President Biden in his State of the Union address lashed out at Israel for not allowing more aid into Gaza, and announced a harebrained scheme to have the U.S. military build a port to facilitate the delivery of more aid.
Biden’s focus has been on getting food and other humanitarian aid into Gaza, not on the real challenge of protecting it and making sure that it gets to those in need once it gets in.
There’s an illuminating article in the Jerusalem Post, citing an Israeli official, that notes:
After crossing the border, trucks often fall prey to criminal gangs and Hamas, who hijack these supplies for sale on the black market. This action deprives people in desperate need of food, particularly those without the financial means or physical strength to secure it.
So even if the port project goes perfectly (and the U.S. military is capable of some amazing things) and more aid flows in, it doesn’t really solve what happens to the aid once it hits the shore. Who is preventing it from getting looted, hoarded by Hamas, and sold on the black market for prices that are unaffordable to those most in need?
Conveniently, the more people are hungry, the better it is for Hamas — as the terrorists see how the humanitarian concerns are leading to more international criticism of Israel, including from Biden.