Biden outlines military plans to build port in Gaza for aid

The U.S. military will establish a temporary port in the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid to starving Palestinians, while continuing to send weapons to Israel, President Joe Biden confirmed in his State of the Union address Thursday.

“No U.S. boots will be on the ground,” Biden said. “A temporary pier will enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day. And Israel must also do its part. Israel must allow more aid into Gaza and ensure that humanitarian workers aren’t caught in the cross fire.

“To the leadership of Israel I say this: Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip.”

Senior administration officials told reporters earlier Thursday the mission would route humanitarian aid through Cyprus to the temporary port in Gaza. The White House is also pushing Israel and Egypt to allow more aid through the land crossings at Rafah and Kerem Shalom.

The announcement, which drew bipartisan applause from lawmakers gathered, came amid calls from Biden for Congress to pass his long-stalled foreign aid bill to arm Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.

The Senate passed the $95 billion foreign aid plan by a 70-29 vote in February. It includes $14 billion in Israel military aid, $48 billion in security assistance for Ukraine and $4 billion to arm Taiwan.

Israel receives an annual $3.8 billion in U.S. military aid, but the White House has said the Defense Department lacks the replenishment funds needed to continue arming Ukraine from U.S. stockpiles.

There’s also $2.4 billion in the bill for U.S. Central Command to respond to the uptick in attacks on American forces since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023; as well as $542 million for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in response to its fiscal 2024 unfunded priorities list.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has so far refused to put the bill on the floor amid growing resistance to additional Ukraine aid from Republican lawmakers as well as opposition from former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner in the GOP presidential primary race.

“Now assistance to Ukraine is being blocked by those who want to walk away from our world leadership,” said Biden, invoking former Republican President Ronald Reagan . “Now my predecessor tells Putin ‘do whatever the hell you want.”

The reference to Trump’s remarks at a campaign rally last month in which the former president voiced frustration with some NATO allies underspending on defense drew “boos” from Republicans in the crowd.

“Send me the bipartisan National Security Bill. History is watching,” Biden said, staring down Republican members of Congress who have opposed the measure. “If the United States walks away now, it will put Ukraine at risk, Europe at risk, the free world at risk, emboldening others who wish to do us harm.”

Biden also promised a strong response to other national security threats, including strikes to degrade Houthi capabilities in the Red Sea. “As commander in chief, I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and military personnel.”

Despite limited details about the plan for a humanitarian port, the idea drew immediate praise from Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., and fellow panel member Angus King, I-Maine, who last week urged the administration to deploy a Navy hospital ship to the region.

“The civilian suffering in Gaza must be alleviated, and a maritime aid route will enable large quantities of food, shelter, and medical supplies to be delivered to those who need it most,” the pair said in a statement. “This temporary port, along with the ongoing airdrop campaign, will help ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”

Bryant Harris is the Congress reporter for Defense News. He has covered U.S. foreign policy, national security, international affairs and politics in Washington since 2014. He has also written for Foreign Policy, Al-Monitor, Al Jazeera English and IPS News.

Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.

美国总统乔·拜登在周四的国情咨文中证实，美国军方将在加沙地带建立一个临时港口，向饥饿的巴勒斯坦人运送人道主义援助物资，同时继续向以色列输送武器。

拜登说：“美国不会派遣地面部队。临时码头将使每天进入加沙的人道主义援助物资数量大幅增加。以色列也必须尽到自己的责任。以色列必须允许更多援助物资进入加沙，并确保人道主义工作者不会卷入交火之中。”

“我要对以色列领导层说：人道主义援助绝不能是次要考虑因素或讨价还价的筹码。”

周四早些时候，高级政府官员告诉记者，此次行动将把人道主义援助物资经由塞浦路斯运往加沙的临时港口。白宫还在敦促以色列和埃及允许更多援助物资通过拉法和凯雷姆沙洛姆陆路口岸运入。

这一宣布赢得了在场议员的两党掌声。此前，拜登呼吁国会通过他长期搁置的对外援助法案，以武装以色列、乌克兰和台湾。

今年2月，参议院以70票赞成、29票反对的投票结果通过了这项950亿美元的对外援助计划。该计划包括向以色列提供140亿美元的军事援助，向乌克兰提供480亿美元的安全援助，以及向台湾提供40亿美元的武器装备。

以色列每年获得美国 38 亿美元的军事援助，但白宫表示，国防部缺乏必要的补充资金，无法继续从美国库存中向乌克兰提供武器。

该法案还包括拨款 24 亿美元给美国中央司令部，用于应对自 2023 年 10 月以色列-哈马斯战争开始以来针对美军的袭击事件的增加；以及拨款 5.42 亿美元给美国印太司令部，用于应对其 2024 财年未拨款优先事项清单。

由于共和党议员对向乌克兰提供更多援助的抵制情绪日益高涨，以及共和党总统初选领跑者、前总统唐纳德·特朗普的反对，众议院议长、路易斯安那州共和党人迈克·约翰逊至今仍拒绝将该法案提交表决。

拜登说：“现在，那些想放弃我们世界领导地位的人正在阻挠对乌克兰的援助。”他援引了前共和党总统罗纳德·里根的话。“现在，我的前任却对普京说‘你想干什么就干什么’。”

上个月，特朗普在一次竞选集会上发表了讲话，他对一些北约盟国在国防开支上的不足表示不满，此番言论引起了在场共和党人的“嘘声”。

“把两党共同支持的《国家安全法案》发给我。历史正在见证，”拜登说着，目光扫过那些反对该法案的共和党国会议员。“如果美国现在退出，将使乌克兰、欧洲、自由世界陷入危险，并助长那些想要伤害我们的人的气焰。”

拜登还承诺将对其他国家安全威胁做出强有力的回应，包括打击胡塞武装在红海的行动能力。“作为三军统帅，我将毫不犹豫地指示采取进一步措施，保护我们的人民和军事人员。”

尽管人道主义港口计划的细节有限，但这一想法立即得到了参议院军事委员会主席杰克·里德博士和委员会成员安格斯·金（缅因州独立参议员）的赞扬。上周，他们敦促政府向该地区部署一艘海军医院船。

“必须减轻加沙平民的苦难，开辟海上援助路线将使大量食品、住所和医疗用品能够送到最需要的人手中，”两人在一份声明中表示。“这个临时港口，加上正在进行的空投行动，将有助于缓解加沙的人道主义危机。”

布莱恩特·哈里斯是《防务新闻》的国会记者。自2014年以来，他一直在华盛顿报道美国外交政策、国家安全、国际事务和政治。他还曾为《外交政策》、《Al-Monitor》、《半岛电视台英语频道》和IPS新闻撰稿。

利奥为《军事时报》报道国会、退伍军人事务部和白宫的新闻。自2004年以来，他一直报道华盛顿特区的新闻，重点关注军人和退伍军人政策。他的作品荣获多项荣誉，包括2009年波尔克奖、2010年国家头条新闻奖、国际退伍军人协会新闻领导力奖和美国退伍军人协会新闻媒体奖。