President Joe Biden will reportedly announce during his State of the Union speech on Thursday that he is deploying the U.S. military to Gaza to help build infrastructure for the Palestinians.
Biden’s announcement comes as Israel has been conducting military operations inside Gaza for the last five months in response to Palestinian terrorists with Hamas murdering 1,200 people inside Israel on October 7.
The “emergency mission” will be to help build a port in Gaza that will create a maritime route for humanitarian assistance from Cyprus, according to U.S. officials.
Officials blamed Israel for the mission, claiming that they were not letting in enough aid into Gaza, even though Hamas steals much of the aid and those who deliver the aid often come under attack.
“We’re not waiting on the Israelis,” an official told Politico. “This is a moment for American leadership, and we are building a coalition of countries to address this urgent need.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) ripped Biden over the reports, posting on X: “Joe Biden continues to capitulate to the pro-Hamas wing of his party at the expense of our Israeli allies.”
Foundation for Defense of Democracies Senior Adviser Richard Goldberg posted: “If only Joe Biden had put as much effort into bringing all Americans home from captivity as he has into adopting Hamas propaganda on the situation in Gaza.”
Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David M. Friedman called the announcement “a cheap political trick”.
“Remember that billions of dollars of aid has come into Gaza over the past 15 years and almost all of it was used to build terror tunnels and rocket launchers. How will that be prevented this time? Won’t a port just accelerate and exacerbate this risk?” he posted on X. “And even with a port, the humanitarian aid has to be loaded onto trucks to get to their destination — yes, the same trucks that Hamas is commandeering and preventing from going to the right people!”
“The issue in Gaza is not the infrastructure — it’s the leadership. How will that change when Biden isn’t even letting Israel destroy four Hamas battalions in Rafah?!” he continued. “This is just a ‘wash rinse repeat’ strategy that has failed the Palestinians so many times in the past — throw money at them and then virtue signal!”
He said that if there was no real accountability in Gaza, meaning an elimination of Hamas and its leaders, the port was “just a bridge to nowhere.”
Other notable responses included:
Biden wants the U.S. military to open a port on Gaza’s coast to “ramp up” aid deliveries.
Stop aiding Hamas. Stop bending to terrorists.
Support Israel.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) March 7, 2024
Biden is sending Americans to Gaza — which will almost surely help Hamas, probably prolong the war, and put our people in danger — to try and win over some voters in Michigan. (None of this, incidentally, will do anything to appease Hamas boosters.) Madness.
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) March 7, 2024
Why are US taxpayers being forced to pay for a port in Gaza to help Joe Biden’s sinking poll numbers? Why is the US military involved in Gaza instead of protecting America’s border from the INVASION led by the world’s most violent cartels? Biden is America last. https://t.co/iQwTJ3sCNd
— Rep. Mary Miller (@RepMaryMiller) March 8, 2024
This is an insane idea, almost impossible to execute well without putting Americans at risk.
Congressional leadership must fight this with every tool at our disposal. https://t.co/R3X2qeitbp
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) March 7, 2024
