Others who responded to Biden's proposal, which includes building a temporary dock and port in Gaza and delivering aid from Cyprus, saw the plan as more evidence of the president's reluctance to confront Israel over its obstruction of relief aid deliveries and continued refusal to use humanitarian aid. The extraordinary leverage that the United States, as Israel's main military backer, has to change the disastrous course of the war.
Sigrid Kaag, the UN humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator in Gaza, said she welcomed the plan. She added: “At the same time, I can only repeat, the air and sea are no substitute for land,” referring to the aid being delivered to the enclave by truck through border crossings.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, whose government participates in the US naval handover plan, echoed this sentiment. “We continue to urge Israel to allow more trucks into Gaza as the fastest way to get aid to those who need it,” he said in a Friday post on X.
The backdrop to the US naval plan is a hunger crisis spreading across Gaza that aid officials say is man-made, the result of limited entry points for supplies, a arduous Israeli inspection process, and Israeli attacks on aid convoys and the police guarding them. Israel denied imposing restrictions on its aid to Gaza.
“Establishing a temporary dock that may take weeks to build or airdrops is not a solution,” the International Rescue Committee said in a statement. “The United States must use its influence to ensure that Israel lifts its blockade of Gaza, reopens its crossings, including the Karni and Erez crossings in the north, and allows the safe and unimpeded movement of humanitarian workers and aid – including fuel, food, and humanitarian assistance.” Medical supplies.”
Biden's speech Thursday included a rare acknowledgment from the president of the extent of the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza during the Israeli military offensive, including the massive death toll. “This war has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of whom are not From Hamas.”
But Iyad Amin (36 years old), a resident of the Gaza Strip who was displaced to the southern city of Rafah, said that Biden “speaks in his speech as if what is happening in Gaza is far from American weapons.”
He added: “Our problem is not aid.” Yes, there is a crisis in Gaza, but the solution to the crisis cannot be achieved by increasing aid. We need a ceasefire. “We need to completely end the suffering,” he said.
Amin added: “We need to live normally like others in the whole world.” “Establishing a port in Gaza will not change reality.”
