Biden’s plan to build floating port for Gaza aid could take 60 days

The floating port Joe Biden plans to build in an effort to deliver much needed humanitarian aid to Gaza could take up to 60 days to complete, according to the Pentagon.

The Pentagon presented the timeline on Friday in the wake of Mr Biden's State of the Union speech.

The port — intentional or not — will likely serve as an olive branch from Mr Biden's administration to Democratic voters who feel his staunch support of Israel is implicit approval of the civilian displacement and deaths caused by the Israeli Defence Forces.

The UN has issued a warning that Gaza Strip is likely to suffer widespread famine if urgent action is not taken. That famine could begin as early as next week, according to a UN analysis.

It warned that once a famine has been declared, it is typically already too late to help many of the affected.

The port is intended to provide a means for the US to quickly deliver aid to Palestinians, but critics have pointed out that the structure would not even be necessary if Israel would allow the US to bring aid in by land.

«This is not a logistics problem; it is a political problem,» Avril Benoît, executive director for Médecins Sans Frontières [Doctors Without Borders], told Reuters. «Rather than look to the US military to build a work-around, the US should insist on immediate humanitarian access using the roads and entry points that already exist.»

Despite the looming threat of famine and further civilian deaths, the port is still in its planning stages, according to the Pentagon.

The Open Arms vessel, carrying two-hundred tonnes of food aid to Gaza, is seen docked in the Cypriot port of Larnaca on March 9, 2024.

General Patrick Ryder said there were also questions over exactly how the port would be