U.S. to build temporary port for aid, Hamas says cease-fire negotiations continue

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The U.S. military will build a temporary port and pier on Gaza’s coastline to provide a new route for humanitarian aid, President Biden is set to announce in his State of the Union address Thursday evening, according to senior administration officials. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said the plan is part of Biden’s orders to “flood the zone” with assistance arriving by air, land and sea.

Hamas said in a statement Thursday that its delegation has left cease-fire negotiations in Cairo “to consult with the leadership of the movement” on issues including aid and the return of displaced people. Egyptian state media reported that talks would resume next week. Pressure is growing on parties to reach a cease-fire deal as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan approaches early next week. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters Wednesday that he was still optimistic a deal could be reached.

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The planned port’s main feature will be a temporary pier that “will provide the capacity for hundreds of additional truckloads of assistance each day,” with shipments coming through Cyprus, a senior administration official said. The plan will include coordination with Israelis on security requirements on land, as well as with the U.N. and humanitarian organizations to distribute the aid. It will take a “number of weeks” to plan and execute, the official said.

An Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity pending an official response, said that Israel “welcomes and fully supports” the port plans, which have been discussed “and will be carried out with full coordination between the two parties.”

Houthi militants struck a Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned commercial vessel off the coast of Yemen on Wednesday, killing three civilian mariners, U.S. officials said. They are the first known fatalities since the Houthis began targeting ships in what they describe as a response to Israel’s actions in Gaza.

At least four people were injured in the Houthi missile attack on the True Confidence ship, said U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the region. The United States conducted self-defense strikes Wednesday evening against two unmanned aerial vehicles that threatened U.S. Navy and maritime vessels in the Gulf of Aden area.

South Africa filed an urgent request Wednesday to the top U.N. court urging it to take more action against Israel and secure the safety of Gazans, citing “widespread starvation” in the enclave. It asked for the measures to be taken without another International Court of Justice hearing, given the “extreme urgency of the situation.”

The U.N. World Food Program is seeking new routes to deliver food and humanitarian aid into northern Gaza after a 14-truck convoy was held for hours at an Israel Defense Forces checkpoint on Tuesday. It was then “stopped by a large crowd of desperate people who looted the food,” the agency said.

An analysis commissioned by Reuters found Thursday that an Israeli tank crew killed the news agency’s reporter Issam Abdallah in Lebanon in October by firing two shells before “likely” opening fire on a group of journalists with a heavy machine gun. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment but has said it was investigating the incident.

At least 30,800 people have been killed and 72,298 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and says 247 soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operation in Gaza.

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