Do not negotiate with aid – Biden warns Israel
Palestinian territories – US President Joe Biden warned Israel on Thursday that it cannot use aid as a “bargaining chip” in its fight against Hamas and called for an immediate temporary ceasefire in Gaza, where fears of a looming famine have multiplied.
Using his annual State of the Union address to deliver some of his strongest comments yet about the five-month-long war, Biden also ordered the US military to lead “an emergency mission” to build a temporary pier off Gaza to facilitate more aid deliveries.
His address was delivered to Congress as hopes dimmed for a new truce before the start of Ramadan after Hamas negotiators left talks with mediators in Egypt to consult the movement’s leadership in Qatar.
“To the leadership of Israel I say this – humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip,” Biden said. “Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority.”
Biden said the temporary pier would be able to “receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters”.
Biden, who is facing political pressure over his steadfast support for Israel despite the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, stressed “no US boots will be on the ground” as part of the project.
US personnel would remain offshore while allies manage onshore operations from the port. The plan would also involve a maritime aid corridor from Cyprus.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was expected in the Mediterranean island yesterday for talks on the planned corridor.
The United States, Israel’s strongest ally, carried out another airdrop of aid into Gaza on Thursday – its third in less than a week – along with aircraft from Jordan, Belgium, Egypt, France and the Netherlands.
With road access for aid into Gaza stalled, the UN aid coordinator for the Palestinian territory, Sigrid Kaag, welcomed the airdrops but said land routes remained “the optimal solution”.
US officials said before Biden’s address that it would be a “number of weeks” before aid deliveries to the planned port could begin, but said the administration would not “be waiting on the Israelis”.
One official described it as “a moment for American leadership”, in a sign of growing White House frustration with Israel’s failure to allow more relief into Gaza.
The United Nations has warned repeatedly that famine is looming in Gaza, where one of its agencies said the war had damaged around half of all buildings by late January and rendered the territory “uninhabitable”.
In the wasteland of Jabalia in northern Gaza, Palestinians gathered to receive meals at a distribution point.
“There is no gas to cook on. There is no flour or rice,” said Bassam al-Hou. Children “are dying and fainting in the streets from hunger”.
In Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, 14 bodies lay in front of a hospital. Gaza’s health ministry said on Wednesday 20 people had died of malnutrition and dehydration.