A temporary port to be built on the Mediterranean coast is believed to allow up to 2 million meals to be delivered to Gaza every day.
The US Department of Defense, the Pentagon, has provided more information about the temporary port that the US plans to build in Gaza in the coming weeks. The US president announced the project on Thursday Joe Biden. The purpose of the port is to deliver food, medicine and relief supplies to Gaza faster and more efficiently than at present.
Pentagon spokesman by Patrick Ryder according to the report, the construction of a temporary port on the Mediterranean coast will probably take the US military about 60 days. He said on Friday that more than 1,000 people are involved in the construction work. The massive military operation involves both soldiers and sailors, but the U.S. military will not be sending troops ashore, even temporarily to anchor the dock to the beach. The work in the countries is handled by US “regional partners”.
Once completed, the temporary port is believed to be able to deliver around 2 million meals to Gazans every day. The increase in aid to the current situation would be significant, since since the beginning of March, the US military has been able to deliver a total of approximately 124,000 meals to Gaza in four airlifts. According to the US military, during the latest flight on Friday, about 11,500 meals were dropped into Gaza.
It is still unclear who will secure the port’s construction area in the countries. According to Ryder, Washington is going over the details with its partner countries. Israel is also among them.
According to the Pentagon spokesperson, there is no cost estimate for the construction of the temporary port yet. According to him, the United States is also having discussions with non-governmental organizations, aid groups and the UN to find out how humanitarian aid should be delivered to Gaza by sea.
Sources: Reuters, AFP