As mass starvation and famine are engulfing the entire Gaza Strip leading to Palestinians dying at an unprecedented rate, the West, namely the US and the EU, may have woken up to the grim reality that there may be a massive loss of Palestinian lives.
Or are they just giving the impression that they care?
Following their announcements of ports and maritime corridors that will deliver aid to Gaza, many are questioning the US and EU’s real intentions.
First, the US president revealed that the US military would lead an American maritime mission to establish a port off the Gaza Strip.
Based on an announcement by the Pentagon, the US military will set up a temporary offshore maritime pier on the Mediterranean coast of Gaza, which will receive ships carrying food, water, medicine, and temporary shelters.
The shipping vessels are going to transfer their cargo to what’s called JLOTS which is a capability that enables US forces to enter the land area from the sea due to a lack of port infrastructure since Gaza does not have a functioning port.
The land area is reached via a causeway, or a pier, which would then lead to a port.
The construction of the JLOTS will require considerable manpower and according to the Pentagon involve more than one thousand US personnel.
The Pentagon has stressed that there would be no US boots on the ground as part of the construction process.
The Pentagon has claimed that it can process more than 2 million meals per day to the citizens of Gaza; however, unloading that much food inside the Gaza Strip is an ambitiously mammoth task.
Once Joe Biden announced this port idea, the EU made the announcement that it would provide a maritime corridor to the Gaza Strip.
The Cyprus-lead aid corridor initiative involves the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.
This corridor would allow aid to be shipped from Cyprus to the coast of Gaza.
A UK operated ship would offload the cargo without the need for a physical port. This entire process is made possible by offloading to a floating pier.
Although it’s pretty odd how both the EU and the US have announced their aid plan simultaneously, it’s worth pointing out what the major differences are.
The US plan involves what’s called the causeway and then the JLOTS. The EU plan, however, consists of ships dropping off aid on a floating pier.
The difference lies mainly in the timeframe. The US plan will take up to two months or 60 days to complete. The EU plan can be operational within a matter of days.
The US plans for aid to Gaza are viewed as efforts that are just a little too late in the game.
Mustafa Barghouti, the Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, said that this is not a new idea but another effort to divert attention from the real issue that 700,000 Palestinians are starving in the north of Gaza.
The US construction of the port has faced backlash from many who hold the US as guilty as Israel when it comes to the genocide in Gaza.
Many consider this to be an attempt to cover up the Gaza genocide and ease international pressure both in Israel and the US, while others question the continued US military aid to Israel.
Abu Obaida, the military spokesman for the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades has blasted Israel for weaponizing food and using starvation against Palestinians to put pressure on Hamas to accept a ceasefire.
He asserted that there can be no captive swaps without ending the aggression.
One can conclude that Hamas is against a temporary ceasefire but would be receptive to a permanent one.
