US military to build port on Gaza coast !

The US military is to set up a temporary port in Gaza so that more aid can get into the beleaguered territory by sea, President Joe Biden will say in his State of the Union speech Thursday.

The move will not involve any US boots on the ground in Gaza, however, as military personnel will stay offshore while other allies are involved, senior administration officials said

“We’re not waiting on the Israelis. This is a moment for American leadership,” one official told reporters, amid growing frustration in the White House with Israel’s failure to allow more relief into the territory.

“Tonight the president will announce in his State of the Union address that he has directed the US military to undertake an emergency mission to establish a port in Gaza,” the official said.

“This port, the main feature of which is a temporary pier, will provide the capacity for hundreds of additional truckloads of assistance each day.”

US officials said it would take a “number of weeks” until the “significant capability” was able to bring more aid to desperate Gazans.

The aid will come via a maritime corridor bringing aid by sea from the port of Larnaca, on Mediterranean island of Cyprus.