WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden announced in his State of the Union speech on Thursday that the US military will construct a temporary port on Gaza's Mediterranean coast to receive humanitarian aid by sea.
It is not clear who will build the causeway or secure the aid on land, meaning crucial questions about whether the operation can succeed remain unanswered. More than 30,800 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry says. The brigade is designed for rapid deployment, but the military ships have not yet left the US, the officials said.
Palestinians said most were shot by Israeli troops. The Israeli military, which was overseeing the private aid deliveries, said most were killed in a stampede. An independent UN expert on Thursday accused Israel of mounting "a starvation campaign against the Palestinian people in Gaza".