US to build temporary naval dock in Gaza for delivering humanitarian aid

U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Thursday during the State of the Union address that the U.S. military will construct a temporary floating pier off the coast of Gaza, allowing for the delivery of humanitarian aid from the Mediterranean Sea.

“We’re not waiting on the Israelis. This is a moment for American leadership, and we are building a coalition of countries to address this urgent need,” a senior official told reporters during a briefing early Thursday.

The port, which was described as “a temporary pier,” will reportedly enable “hundreds of additional truckloads of assistance each day,” according to the official.

The proposal for a marine humanitarian corridor into Gaza has been a consideration for years but never had full support due to concerns over the Gaza City’s fishing port’s inability to handle docking large ships.

After a Gaza aid incident last week in which about 100 Palestinians were killed and several hundred more wounded, the Biden administration called for renewed plans to establish the corridor.

According to one official, the U.S. is coordinating the construction of the port with Israel and a coalition of partners, including European and Middle Eastern partners. While it is not clear who will actually build the port, the official said it would be “an operation that won't require U.S. boots on the ground.”

The official claimed that the work would be coordinated with “the UN and humanitarian NGOs.”

The construction of such a port would likely take several weeks, and the aid will apparently come through Cyprus, the location where humanitarian aid was inspected and loaded onto planes during the recent U.S. airdrops into Gaza.

Video of the airdrop of Humanitarian Assistance into Gaza on March 5th. pic.twitter.com/60FsZn2Wfn
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 5, 2024

Pundits from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD) responded to the U.S. initiative with strong warnings about the construction project and wider implications.

Mark Montgomery, FDD senior fellow and the senior director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology wrote: “This will be a significant challenge for the U.S. military. Constructing and operating this temporary pier are enormous tasks that can go wrong in about 100 ways. It will also introduce a great deal of force protection risk during construction, installation, and operation of the facility.”

“The president’s proposal lacks critical specificity on what happens to aid when it gets to the port, who will control the port, how distribution will be more effective by using a port, how much this will cost, how he will protect the U.S. military from terror threats, and how he will secure the aid upon arrival until delivery," stated FDD senior advisor Richard Goldberg.

Goldberg said the Biden administration should allow Israel to complete its goal of eradicating the terrorist organization from Gaza.

"The bigger problem, however, is that the White House has forgotten the most basic truth — there is no future for the people of Gaza unless Hamas is completely destroyed. Every day, the president pressures Israel not to finish its campaign is a day we delay a better future for the people of Gaza.”

The Biden administration said it has provided more than $180 million in assistance to Gaza since the start of the war.

The U.S. and several other nations have claimed there is a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza due to a lack of food, however, videos on social media from Gaza have shown Hamas fighters commandeering aid trucks that enter the Gaza Strip. In recent days, other videos have shown Gaza residents throwing away food from recent U.S. airdrops, saying they don’t want to receive any aid from America.

This Gazan is less appreciative of the air dropped US aid. Watch him show the only thing to do with it.

Knowing Gazans I'm really not surprised about this. I've told you time and again how picky they are about their food.#TheGazaYouDontSee pic.twitter.com/MqYthzQIuP
— Imshin (@imshin) March 5, 2024

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said on Wednesday that 257 humanitarian aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip through Israeli border crossing points.

🚚257 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid were transferred to the Gaza Strip today.
🚚153 trucks carried food, the rest carried medical supplies, shelter equipment and water.
Aid is inspected at Nitzana and Kerem Shalom crossings and then transferred to Gaza. There is no limit. pic.twitter.com/eBlPIKSq5K
— COGAT (@cogatonline) March 6, 2024

Israel alleges that much of the aid is being stolen by Hamas terrorists. It also said it has “excess capacity” to transfer more aid into Gaza if more nations want to bring the aid to Israel.

COGAT also released a recent video from Gaza showing markets with plenty of food.