US looking into maritime aid operation as Gaza humanitarian crisis worsens

A US official says that in addition to air-dropping humanitarian aid into Gaza, the Biden administration is also considering shipping assistance by sea from Cyprus, some 210 nautical miles off Gaza’s Mediterranean coast.

Biden aides visited Cyprus this week to examine a possible maritime aid operation, the official says.

The details of such an operation, including where in Gaza supplies could be unloaded, are not clear.

The official says the Biden administration is considering using military or commercial ships and that it would be “complex in terms of securing a landing site.”

No decision has been made on military involvement in such an operation, says the official, adding that Israel is “very receptive” to the sealift option because it would avoid delays from protesters blocking land crossings to aid convoys.