President Joe Biden announced in his State of the Union address that he’s directing the U.S. military to establish a pier on the coast of the Palestinian enclave for the delivery of aid.
What we know
- At least five people have been killed and an unknown number injured by aid packages dropped from aircraft into Gaza today, the enclave’s civil defense has said. A U.S. official rejected reports that U.S. airdrops were to blame, saying all U.S. “aid bundles landed safely on the ground.”
- President Joe Biden has warned Israel that humanitarian assistance cannot be “a bargaining chip.” In his State of the Union address, Biden outlined plans for a pier on the Palestinian enclave’s coast to deliver aid. The U.S. and allies announced a joint maritime corridor that could open this weekend.
- Biden also called for an immediate, temporary cease-fire in Israel’s war with Hamas and pointed to hostages’ families in attendance at the speech, but hopes for a new truce deal by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan have faded after no breakthrough in the talks in Egypt.
- The death toll in Gaza has passed 30,800, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, amid surging fears of starvation among its more than 2 million residents. The Israeli military said that at least 247 soldiers have been killed since the ground invasion of Gaza began.
SOURCE: NBC NEWS
