Biden will order US forces to build ‘emergency’ aid seaport on Gaza coast

President Joe Biden is set to order US forces on an “emergency” mission that will see them construct a seaport on the Gaza coast to allow a new influx of much-needed humanitarian aid into the territory amid the continuing Israeli war on Hamas.

A senior administration official said Mr Biden will announce the new aid mission on Thursday evening when he delivers his annual State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress.

The official said Mr Biden will tell Congress that he is “directing the US military to lead an emergency mission to establish a port in the Mediterranean on the Gaza coast that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine, and temporary shelters”.

“This is an initiative that will get underway here when the President makes the announcement and issues the orders,” the official said, adding later that the building of a bespoke temporary seaport in Gaza is part of continuing efforts to “get life saving humanitarian aid into Gaza to alleviate the suffering of innocent Palestinians who have nothing to do with Hamas”.

“Responding to the humanitarian crisis and the needs of the Palestinian people has been a priority since day one and it remains one today. But the truth is, we know that the aid flowing into Gaza is nowhere near enough and nowhere near fast enough,” they said. “The President will make clear again this evening that we all need to do more and that the United States is doing more and we are seeking to use every channel possible to get additional assistance into Gaza”.

The senior official, who has been directly involved in negotiations with the Israeli government over aid routes into Gaza, also said Israel has now agreed to open a “new land crossing” it has prepared into northern