Israel-Hamas war: US plans to build port on Gaza’s coast to increase flow of humanitarian aid

President Joe Biden. Photo / AP

President Joe Biden will announce a plan in his State of the Union address for the US military to help establish a temporary port on the Gaza coast, increasing the flow of humanitarian aid for the beleaguered territory during the Israel-Hamas war, according to administration officials.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the operation would not require that American troops be on the ground to build the pier, which is intended to allow more shipments of food, medicine and other essential items.

The officials did not provide details about how the pier would be built. One noted the US military has “unique capabilities” and can do things from “just offshore”.

The move provides one more layer to the extraordinary dynamic that’s emerged as the United States has had to go around Israel, its main Middle East ally, and find ways to get aid into Gaza, including through airdrops.

Biden last week raised the idea of establishing a “marine corridor”, saying the US was working with allies on how it might provide assistance from the sea to those in Gaza.

Parachutes drop supplies into the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday. Photo / AP

General Erik Kurilla, head of US Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee he had briefed officials on such a maritime option.

Also on Thursday, the US conducted a third airdrop in the northern part of Gaza, where there is no Israeli presence. Kurilla said Central Command had provided options for increasing the number of trucks taking aid to those areas.

Five months of fighting between Israel and Hamas have left much of Hamas-run Gaza in ruins and led to a worsening humanitarian catastrophe. Many Palestinians, especially in the devastated north, are scrambling for food to survive.

Aid groups have said it has become nearly impossible to deliver supplies within most of Gaza because of the difficulty of co-ordinating with the Israeli military, the ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of public order.