WASHINGTON - The United States military will build a temporary port on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to receive humanitarian aid by sea, President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union speech on March 7.

Planning for the operation, initially based on the island of Cyprus, does not envisage the deployment of US military personnel in Gaza.

Mr Biden’s announcement came as he seeks to cool anger among many in his Democratic Party over his support for Israel in its offensive in Gaza since Oct 7, given the steep toll on civilians in the Palestinian enclave.

Senior administration officials who had briefed reporters on the plan before the speech said Hamas is delaying a new deal with Israel on a six-week ceasefire and the release of hostages because the Palestinian militant group that rules Gaza has not agreed to free sick and elderly captives.

The deal “is on the table now and has been for more than the past week”, said an official, referring to stalled negotiations in Egypt, adding that the temporary ceasefire is needed “to bring immediate relief to the people of Gaza”.

Hamas blamed the stalemate on Israel’s rejection of its demands to end its offensive and withdraw its forces.

Mr Biden’s decision to order the construction of the temporary port comes amid United Nations warnings of widespread famine among the enclave’s 2.3 million Palestinians, after nearly five months of fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas.

A staunch supporter of Israel, the US leader faces rising political pressure to end the Israeli offensive, including a protest movement for Democratic voters to withhold their support for the president in his party primaries for November’s general election.

Large swathes of Gaza have been destroyed and most of the population displaced by intense Israeli bombardments and fighting ignited by Hamas’ Oct 7 onslaught into Israel.

Israel says Hamas’ incursion claimed 1,200 lives and saw the Islamists abduct 253 hostages.

In his speech, Mr Biden said more than 30,000 Palestinians had been killed. “Most of whom are not Hamas,” he added. “Thousands and thousands are innocent women and children.”

Sea deliveries to Gaza

Mr Biden told Congress he was directing the US military to lead an emergency mission to set up a “temporary pier” on the Gaza coast to receive ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters.

“No US boots will be on the ground,” he added.

Washington will work with European and regional partners and allies to build an international coalition of countries that will contribute capabilities and funds, the officials said.

An Israeli official said Israel “fully supports the deployment of a temporary dock” on Gaza’s coast and the operation would be carried out “with full coordination between the two parties”.

Ms Sigrid Kaag, the UN humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, welcomed Washington joining the initiative developed by Cyprus to create a maritime corridor to deliver goods to Gaza.

“We welcome this. At the same time I cannot but repeat – air and sea is not a substitute for land and nobody says otherwise,” she told reporters earlier on March 7, after briefing the UN Security Council behind closed doors.

Although Israel is increasing the number of aid-bearing trucks allowed into Gaza, and the US and other countries have been airdropping supplies, the assistance getting in is still insufficient, one of the US officials said.

“We’re not waiting for the Israelis” to let in more aid, the official added. “This is a moment for American leadership.”

The official said the operation would “take a number of weeks to plan and execute” and that the US forces required for it are in the region or would soon begin moving there.

The US operation would build on a Cypriot government initiative which calls for collecting humanitarian aid in the island’s port city of Larnaca, 210 nautical miles from Gaza, the officials said.

That would permit Israeli officials to screen shipments before they are transported to Gaza.

While the temporary port in Gaza would initially be a military-run operation, Washington envisions it becoming a commercially run facility, the official said. REUTERS