By land and air, and soon, by sea: the United States is doing everything it can to loosen the Israeli stranglehold on humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. In his address to Congress on Thursday, March 7, President Joe Biden confirmed that an emergency mission would be set up to deliver some of this aid by sea. The idea, he said, was to set up "a temporary pier" that would "enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day."
In an exchange with the press in the morning, a senior US official announced that this "emergency mission" would "accommodate large ships carrying food, water, medical supplies and temporary shelters." A project for an offshore port off the coast of the enclave had already been backed by Turkey and Qatar in 2015, but never materialized for lack of Israeli validation. This time, the use of the word "port" is a misuse of language. It would be a temporary pier, probably floating, on the beach or slightly offshore. American ships would keep a safe distance from the coast. There would be no question of deploying soldiers on Palestinian soil, either to install the structure or to deliver aid.
The first convoys would pass through Cyprus and its port of Larnaca, thanks to an international coalition backing up the US and an Israeli presence to check the contents. According to the official, the distribution of aid to Gaza would take place with the United Nations and humanitarian aid organizations. But at this stage, no one knows how. The intentions are clear, the details are vague, and the time needed to implement it could take weeks.
On the Israeli side, COGAT, the body coordinating government activities in the Palestinian territories, communicates as if it were heartily assisting a population in need. "There are no limits to the amount of humanitarian aid that can enter Gaza," claimed the COGAT account on X on Thursday, despite evidence to the contrary. With one voice, American and Israeli officials blame looting on the ground in Gaza, organized by criminal groups. In fact, it's those who starve who are the first to pounce on the rations. They are looting because of the chaos that has reigned since Israel destroyed Gaza's infrastructure (fishing boats, warehouses, schools, etc.), made convoys unsafe and undermined the UNRWA, the United Nations mission that serves as an essential safety net for assistance and solidarity. Refusing any visible presence of men in uniform, Israeli forces beat up local policemen a month ago. Since then, they have refused to escort aid trucks.
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