“The port can receive large ships carrying food, water medicine, and temporary shelters,” top US officials told reporters.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government welcomed news of the plan, an Israeli official said, while others in the Defense Minster expressed surprise.
US President Joe Biden is expected to announce the initiative during his annual State of the Union speech on his domestic and foreign policy.
Biden faces pressure to help those in Gaza
It comes as Biden’s re-election campaign for the White House is kicking into full gears and as he is under pressure to do more to help Palestinians in Gaza, particularly in light of United Nations reports of hunger and possible starvation in the enclave.
The Biden administration's decision to jump into hyper gear over humanitarian aid to the enclave was taken as American officials worked with Egypt and Qatar for a hostage deal that would include a six-week pause to the Israel-Hamas war and allow for Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.
The Biden administration has been blunt in the last week about its frustrations with Israel, charging that the IDF could and should do more to ensure that humanitarian aid is distributed within Gaza, a move that has been complicated by the IDF’s military campaign to destroy Hamas.
“The aid flowing into Gaza is nowhere near enough and nowhere near fast enough,” US officials told reporters, as they explained that Biden now wanted to take matters into his own hands.
“The President has directed that we look at all options [and] that we do not wait for the Israelis. We are pursuing every channel possible to get assistance into Gaza. So we will do it by air by sea by land however we can get the maximum amount in as possible,” the US officials said.
