The U.S. military port that is intended to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza is expected to take up to two months to construct and requires over 1,000 U.S. servicemembers to complete, the Pentagon said.
In a press conference on Friday, Press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters that that port would take at least 1,000 U.S. forces.
“We anticipate that it’ll take over 1,000 U.S. forces to participate in building this capability,” Ryder said.
“As far as time frame, several weeks, likely up to 60 days in order to deploy the forces and construct the causeway and the pier,” he said.
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Smoke rises from damaged residential buildings in Khan Yunis seen from the city of Rafah following the Israeli attacks on January 11, 2024 in Rafah, Gaza. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Ryder said that the Department of Defense is starting immediately in constructing the port.
“But again, we’re starting immediately, in terms of putting things into motion on that front,” Ryder said.
The spokesperson explained that the offshore pier that President Biden ordered will allow for expedited humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“Simply put, they’ll establish a temporary offshore maritime pier that allows for shipping vessels to transfer cargo to smaller vessels to transport and offload cargo to a temporary causeway for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza,” Ryder said.
Fishing boats in the port of Gaza at sunset, Gaza, Nov 2021. Photo: Majdi Fathi/TPS (Majdi Fathi/TPS)
Ryder stressed that there would be no boots on the ground.
“The concept that is being planned involves the presence of U.S. military personnel on military vessels offshore but does not require U.S. military personnel to go ashore,” Ryder explained, saying that the White House is coordinating with likeminded nations to determine who will be operating the pier and distributing the aid into Gaza.
Cyprus has been highlighted as one of the locations where aid could be loaded onto ships and then taken to the floating pier, Ryder said.
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The offshore pier is expected to provide more than two million meals for people in Gaza when fully operational.
“Once operational, the actual amount of aid delivered will depend on many variables, and will likely scale over time,” Ryder said. “However, we expect that deliveries via JLOTS could provide more than two million meals to the citizens of Gaza per day.”
President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Washington. Standing at left is Vice President Kamala Harris and seated at right is House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. (Shawn Thew/Pool via AP)
President Biden announced on Thursday during his State of the Union address that the U.S. military will build a port in Gaza.
The development was revealed earlier Thursday by senior administration officials discussing humanitarian aid for the Hamas-controlled territory.
“Tonight in the speech, the president will announce that he’s directing the U.S. 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,” the official said.
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“This port, the main feature of which is a temporary pier, will provide the capacity for hundreds of additional truckloads of assistance each day,” a second official added. “We will coordinate with the Israelis on the security requirements on land and work with the U.N. and humanitarian NGOs. Understanding the distribution of assistance within Gaza and Israeli settlements will come via Cyprus enabled by the U.S. military and a coalition of partners and allies.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
