Yesterday, U.S. President Joe Biden delivered his annual State of the Union address to a double session of the United States Congress. In his speech, Biden surveyed domestic and foreign affairs at the top of his agenda; the coincidental timing, two days after his victory in the Democratic primary, and his opponent’s Donald Trump in the Republican Party—victories that made it clear what the next U.S. election would look like—made the speech as a whole a fertile ground to serve as a starting point for the campaign ahead of the election.
Towards the end of his speech, Biden referred to the war in the Gaza Strip. First, Biden expressed his constant commitment to Israel, and continued efforts on behalf of the remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip, with some of the hostages already released in the Congress hall, and some of the families of those who remained in Gaza. “Hamas has started this conflict, and it can also end it by releasing the hostages and surrendering,” Biden said, accusing the terrorist organization of not making progress in negotiations to release the hostages.
Biden then addressed the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, which is considered especially sensitive in the United States and the Western world, and for which Biden receives much criticism. Biden promised that American soldiers would not land in the Gaza Strip (in paraphrase of the failed American involvement in Lebanon in 1982), and asked Israel to ensure optimal Humanitarian assistance, against the backdrop of the shooting / stampede affair in the northern Gaza Strip last week.
In addition, Biden published for the first time the new American plan for smooth passage of humanitarian supplies to Gaza residents – by sea, by establishing a temporary floating platform off the Gaza coast. Attempts by the US to bring in equipment by land and air have encountered difficulties (with the riots surrounding the trucks, and the parachutes landing far from their targets), and now an attempt will be made by sea. Of course, this is done in cooperation with the Israeli government, and the Israeli Navy will monitor the Equipment and verify it. In any case, it is not clear why there is a belief that the distribution of equipment will be more successful in this way, when the real problem is not the transportation but the lack of governance in Gaza; but if this is the lip tax that Israel needs to pay the United States, and Biden his voters, it’s OK.
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