More than half a year of war between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas has sparked a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, with the United Nations warning that the Palestinian enclave is at risk of starvation if the Jewish state does not release more aid.
Earlier this week, the Pentagon announced that the US military had begun construction of a pier to speed up the delivery of aid.
“It will probably take two or three weeks before we actually see action,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told ABC News on Sunday.
According to him, this port will help bring more food and other essential supplies to the Gaza Strip, but its capacity is limited.
“Frankly, there’s no substitute for ground routes and trucks coming in,” Mr Kirby said.
After seven workers of the US-based charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) were killed in an Israeli drone strike in the Gaza Strip earlier this month, US President Joe Biden ordered Israel to change its fighting methods.
According to the president, Israel needs to allow more aid into the Palestinian enclave and make greater efforts to prevent casualties.
According to Mr. Biden, further US support for Israel will depend on whether such changes are implemented.
On Sunday, Mr. Kirby said that the Jewish state is currently allowing more trucks to enter the Gaza Strip, especially in the hardest-hit northern part of the Palestinian enclave.
“Israel has begun to fulfill the obligations that President Biden requested,” he said.
Mr. Biden first spoke about plans to build a temporary marina in the Gaza Strip in March.
Israel is launching a large-scale military offensive against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip after the Islamist group carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israeli communities on October 7.
The October 7 attack by Hamas killed 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to Israel.
In the attack, Hamas militants took about 250 hostages, 129 of whom Israel says are still in the Gaza Strip, including 34 dead.
After vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel launched a massive military offensive that killed at least 34,454 people, mostly women and children, in the Gaza Strip, the Hamas-run territory’s Health Ministry said on Saturday. She also indicated that at least 66 Palestinians had been killed in the past 24 hours.
