Military to build aid port in Gaza

WASHINGTON — President Biden announced in his State of the Union address Thursday that the US military will build a temporary port for the distribution of aid on the Gaza Strip’s coast — before demanding Israel allow more aid into the besieged Hamas-run enclave.

“Tonight, I’m directing the US military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the coast of Gaza that can receive large shipments carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelter,” said Biden in ordering American troops closer to the conflict.

“No US boots will be on the ground. The temporary pier will enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day.”

The president then rounded on America’s longest-standing Middle Eastern ally, saying that “Israel must do its part.”

“Israel must allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza and ensure humanitarian workers aren’t caught in the crossfire,” Biden said, to applause from lawmakers.

Earlier Thursday, a White House official told reporters on a press call that “unique capabilities” would allow troops to remain “just offshore” rather than be placed in the middle of a war zone.

American officials neither disclosed where exactly the port would be located nor laid out precise plans to distribute the aid, which they said would arrive from nearby Cyprus.

“We worked very closely with the Israelis in developing this initiative,” one official said, signaling that the port likely would be set up in an area controlled by the Jewish state rather than in besieged areas still held by Hamas.