Critics have deemed an American initiative to construct a makeshift port off the coast of Gaza to expedite the delivery of humanitarian aid an attempt to deflect attention away from the plight of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who are famished and Israel’s persistent obstruction of aid to the enclave.
During Thursday’s State of the Union address, US President Joe Biden issued the following directive: “Lead an emergency mission to establish a pier off the Mediterranean coast of Gaza to receive ships carrying food, water, medicine, and temporary shelters.”
The operational strategy, originally intended to be executed from Cyprus, does not include the deployment of United States military personnel in the Gaza Strip.
Biden stated, “No American boots will be on the ground.”
The US airdropped 36,000 meals into northern Gaza in response to the growing criticism of the Biden administration regarding Israel’s severe restrictions on humanitarian aid entry into Gaza by land. Despite this, Israel continues to provide weapons to the Israeli military and maintains a loyal ally relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
US officials stated that the operation would “take several weeks to plan and execute” and that the necessary US forces are currently stationed in the region or will soon begin to relocate there. Biden provided few logistical details.
They added that Washington would collaborate with the Israeli military on the Gaza coast security situation.
According to the European Commission chief, this Friday, a maritime aid corridor could begin operating between Gaza and Cyprus.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the Commission, stated that a trial shipment of food aid collected by a charitable organization and funded by the United Arab Emirates might depart Cyprus as early as Friday.
“The European Union, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States are launching this Cyprus maritime corridor together,” she said following a tour of facilities in Larnaca, Cyprus.
“With any luck, this corridor will reopen this Saturday or Sunday; therefore, it is a great relief to learn that an initial pilot will be initiated today.”
She did not specify where the aid would be transported within Gaza, nor did she allude to Biden’s declaration regarding the “temporary pier” constructed along the Gaza coast.
A ‘distraction’ is the Gaza port proposal
The secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative, Mustafa Barghouti, stated that the construction of a port in Gaza “is not a novel concept.”
“This seems to be an additional attempt to deflect attention from the true matter at hand, which is that Israel forbids humanitarian aid from reaching the 700,000 starving people in north Gaza and the rest of the Gaza Strip,” he stated.
Barghouti stated that substantial volumes of aid are awaiting entry into the enclave at the border of Gaza and Egypt and that “the international community is doing nothing to exert pressure on Israel to end this blockade.”
Biden’s statement, according to Marwan Bishara, a senior political analyst at Al Jazeera, serves as a diversion from the ongoing support that the United States maintains for Israel.
Bishara expressed that the statement made during the State of the Union address needed to be more sincere and was more intended for public relations purposes rather than a genuine effort to alleviate the suffering in Gaza.
An associate professor of digital humanities and Middle East studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar said Biden’s speech centered on foreign policy, specifically the Gaza conflict. Jones further explained that Biden was “attempting to reaffirm his support for Israel on a fundamental level and to deflect some of the criticism he is receiving from members of his party regarding the United States’ response to Gaza.”
Despite its expressed displeasure with the lack of aid reaching Gaza, he continued how Biden framed the conflict by “adopting the Israeli line that everything they are doing, the genocide, the mass killings, is a response to October 7,” conveyed that the United States remained steadfastly behind Israel.
Nothing can replace aid delivery via land
The United Nations humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator in Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, applauded the United States’ intention to provide sea access to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
“However, I must reiterate – air and sea are no substitutes for land – and nobody disputes this,” Kaag told reporters on Thursday following a briefing to the United Nations Security Council.
This week, a representative of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees stated, “The most direct route for delivering aid into the Gaza Strip is through the existing crossings, which Israel refers to as Kerem Shalom and Rafah from Egypt.”
Tamara Alrifai stated that the current land crossings are “more expedient, secure, and cost-effective” compared to an airdropping endeavor and a maritime route.
“Why should the wheel be reinvented?” “Let us utilize what is already in place and what has proven effective in the past,” Alrifai emphasized, adding that “constant appeals for a ceasefire that would permit an influx of humanitarian aid” continue.
Melanie Ward, the Chief Executive Officer of Medical Aid for Palestinians, told Al Jazeera, “Strategies such as airdrops and temporary seaports are neither practical nor sustainable in their efforts to avert impending famine and maintain life in Gaza.”
She stated on Friday, “Five months later, it is long past time for the United States, the United Kingdom, and others to use their substantial weight to ensure that their ally Israel reopens land crossings into Gaza immediately.”
“After five months of Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment and siege of the people of Gaza, the massive humanitarian response that is required can only be delivered through an immediate and lasting ceasefire,” Ward stated.
Israel has maintained complete authority over the Gaza Strip’s territorial waters and coastline since 1967, preventing vessels from accessing the area.
Israel has maintained a naval blockade on Gaza’s port and nearly all of its border passages since 2007, rendering it the only seaport in the Mediterranean that is inaccessible to vessels.
Because Israel has initiated hostilities against the enclave, only a trickle of aid has been permitted to pass through the Rafah and Karem Abu Salem borders with Egypt.
Additionally, Israeli forces have targeted Palestinians who were awaiting food assistance. More than 750 Palestinians were injured, and at least 112 were killed on February 29 when Israeli troops opened fire on hundreds of individuals queuing for food aid in the vicinity of Gaza City’s southwest.
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