US to build 'temporary port' in Gaza for humanitarian aid

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden will announce in his State of the Union address that the country's military will build a temporary port in Gaza for the delivery of additional humanitarian aid to civilians, senior officials have said.

"Tonight in the speech, the President will announce that he's 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," one of the officials said during a call with reporters on Thursday.

The official added that the project, "the main feature of which is a temporary pier", is expected to become operational in "a number of weeks", Xinhua news agency reported.

US forces involved in the mission "are either already in the region or will begin to move there soon", the official said.

The officials didn't provide much detail about the plan, with one noting that it won't require "US troops on the ground" to build the port. Instead, the US military will work "from just offshore", collaborating with partners and allies and "working on commercial options".