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Landing of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Joe Biden
(Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz, AFP)
US President Joe Biden will announce on the night of March 8 that the US army will create a port in Gaza for the delivery of humanitarian aid. He will make a corresponding statement in the State of the Nation report, his annual message to Congress, senior sources in the White House administration said on Wednesday, March 7, at a media briefing before Biden’s speech.
Sources say the pier will be built within a few weeks. Deliveries by sea will pass through Cyprus. The presence of US soldiers in the Gaza port will not be required. They will be on a ship at sea.
According to the American publication The New York Times, the construction of the port will involve, according to various estimates, from several hundred to thousands of US military personnel. A number of countries in the region will also take part in the project. It remains to be seen whether Israel will join. The construction site has not yet been chosen. The publication notes that the US Army Corps of Engineers has extensive experience in the rapid construction of floating facilities that the US army uses in combat operations.
Presumably, the structure will be assembled at sea, then towed to the shores of Gaza, which will become a temporary berth. The White House gave the project emergency status due to the humanitarian situation in the sector.
Sources in the US presidential administration also said that Biden will touch upon the topic of the release of Israeli hostages in his message. The president is likely to point out that talks on the swap deal have stalled because Hamas refuses to release elderly and sick prisoners.
Sources indicated that a temporary ceasefire in Gaza is vital for the delivery of large volumes of humanitarian aid. Sources acknowledged that radical forces could take advantage of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan (March 10–April 9) to escalate violence in the region.
The general negotiated the supply of humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea through Cyprus. The plan assumes that the UAE will purchase everything necessary, the cargo will arrive on ships in Cyprus, where it will undergo security checks, and from there it will go to Gaza.
The US continues to put pressure on Israel to open the Karni crossing for supplies directly to North Gaza. In addition, Washington insists on starting deliveries by sea.
There is still no decision on who will distribute aid in Gaza so that Hamas does not take it away.
