An Israeli raid on the Gaza port on the second day of the war (Reuters)

US President Joe Biden announced that his country's army will build a temporary port on the coast of the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid by sea, and this is supposed to be done from the island of Cyprus.

Biden's plan comes amid international warnings of the spread of famine in Gaza, which has a population of about 2,300,000, 5 months after the Israeli war that destroyed the Strip and caused a humanitarian catastrophe.

Below are the details of the plan:

why now?

The United Nations has warned that Gaza faces the risk of famine, citing "enormous obstacles" to the delivery and distribution of relief supplies across the Strip.

Relief agencies called on Israel to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and to allow safe passage of relief convoys into the Strip.

At the same time, Biden is under pressure from the Democratic Party to pressure Israel to do more to allow relief supplies in.

Israel said that there is no maximum limit on the amount of humanitarian aid provided to civilians in Gaza, and justified the slow delivery of the United Nations' inability to distribute.

How is aid arriving now?

Most of the aid was coming by land through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, and since last December, through the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, but the pace of its entry is still very slow.

The United Nations complained of several obstacles it faces in entering and distributing supplies, including the closure of crossings, restrictions on movement and communications, arduous inspection procedures, disturbances, destroyed roads, and unexploded ordnance.

Some countries, including the United States and Jordan, have begun airdrops of aid, although relief agencies say that airdrops provide much smaller quantities than what can be delivered by truck by land.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the operation of a sea corridor to transport much-needed aid to the besieged Gaza Strip from Cyprus could begin early next week.

An expert in American affairs and international relations reveals the truth about American statements regarding establishing a port in #Gaza to receive aid #Al Jazeera_Live #Gaza_Moment_by_Moment pic.twitter.com/ETab1w0w2I

- Al Jazeera Live (@ajmubasher) March 7, 2024

How will the temporary port work?

The US Army will build the pier off the coast of Gaza.

American media quoted an official as saying that the pier will be connected to the mainland via a temporary bridge.

The aid is scheduled to be shipped to the pier from Cyprus, where it will be inspected by Israeli officials first, as is currently happening at the land border.

Some areas in Gaza are facing bigger crises than others, which means that the process of distributing aid may represent a real challenge to the anticipated plan.

No details have yet been made clear about how it will be distributed.

How long it will take?

The US President did not address this, but an official told Reuters that it would take "a few weeks to plan and implement."

With reports of children dying in hospitals in northern Gaza due to malnutrition, the temporary port plan does not appear to be an immediate solution for people already starved.

This is the sea line between an American military port in Gaza


and the island of Cyprus... to deliver aid pic.twitter.com/tooIc1kxrL

— Hoda_jannat (@hodajannat) March 8, 2024

Where will the port be located?

This is not clear either.

Most of Gaza's coast is beaches, and there may only be limited locations that large ships can approach without being razed.

Under the Oslo Accords in 1993, European countries promised to build a seaport near Gaza City in the northern Strip.

But the idea collapsed after the Palestinian uprising in 2000, and there is now only a small fishing port there that is not suitable for large ships.

Israel isolated northern Gaza from its south militarily early in the war, and prevented residents from moving between them.

Aid convoys face difficulties in crossing Israeli checkpoints from south to north.

There is also a long pier extending into the sea near Khan Yunis in the south, which is usually used by fishing boats.

How will security be provided?

Biden promised that no American forces would set foot on Gaza, and it was not clear whether Israeli or other forces would provide security for the temporary port itself, or to transport aid in the Strip.

Security issues exacerbated the obstacles to the aid distribution process in Gaza, and the Palestinian police stopped guarding the convoys after what the United Nations described as “a wave of attacks by Israeli forces that led to the deaths of police.”

What does each side say about the plan?

Israel says it "fully supports the establishment of a temporary dock" and promised "full cooperation between the two parties."

“Aid and the sea are not a substitute for land, and no one can say otherwise,” said Sikhrid Kach, Gaza’s senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator.

For her part, spokeswoman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Juliette Touma, said that the agency welcomes any effort that “improves and enhances the flow of much-needed humanitarian aid.”

But she added, "There is an easier and more effective way to bring aid... which is through the land crossings linking Israel to Gaza."

Source: Reuters