US President Joe Biden’s plan to build a floating US military port to speed aid to Gaza could take up to 60 days to become a reality and involve more than 1,000 US troops, the Pentagon said.
The Pentagon offered the timeline a day after Biden announced the initiative in his State of the Union address, as he seeks to calm anger in his Democratic Party over his staunch support for Israel’s Oct. 7 offensive in Gaza.
The United Nations has warned that famine in the Gaza Strip is “almost inevitable” without urgent action. The formal conclusion that famine has reached the coastal enclave of 2.3 million people could come next week. The United Nations has said that once famine is declared, it is too late to help many people.
“Children in Gaza can’t wait to eat. They are already dying of malnutrition, and saving their lives is a matter of hours or days, not weeks,” said Jason Lee from Save the Children.
Some US lawmakers and aid organizations said the floating dock system masked a bigger problem – the failure to get the Israeli government to allow more aid to enter Gaza by land, which is the fastest and most effective option.
“It is not a problem of logistics; it’s a political problem,” said Avril Benoît, executive director of Doctors Without Borders in the United States.
“Instead of looking to the US military to build a solution, the United States should insist on an immediate humanitarian approach, using the roads and entry points that already exist,” she said.
Air Force Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said planning for the port system is still in its early stages, and deployment orders are just beginning to arrive for those soldiers who will be heading to the Middle East.
The Pentagon said it had not yet determined exactly how the landing site for the floating port system would be secured from any threats, adding that it was in discussions with partners, including Israel.
Asked if the Pentagon foresees the port system being targeted by Hamas, which the US calls a terrorist organization, Ryder said: “It’s certainly a risk.”
“If Hamas, however, really cares about the Palestinian people, then, again, one could hope that this international mission to deliver aid to people in need could go smoothly,” said Ryder.
However, in a hint that security is satisfied, Ryder said that no US troops will enter Gaza, even temporarily, to complete the construction of the port.
The U.S. port system envisioned for Gaza includes two separate components—the first is the construction of a floating, coastal barge that could accept aid deliveries.
The U.S. military would then transfer aid from there to a floating, 550-meter-long dike anchored off the coast.
Once operational, the port system would allow the delivery of about two million meals to Gaza residents per day, Ryder said, according to Reuters.
