US to set up temporary port on Gaza coast for aid delivery

President Joe Biden is to announce that the US military will construct a port in Gaza to get more humanitarian aid into the territory by sea, senior US officials say.

The temporary port will increase the amount of humanitarian assistance to Palestinians by "hundreds of additional truckloads" per day, officials say.

However it will not include US troops on the ground in Gaza, they said.

The UN warns that a quarter of the population is on the brink of famine.

The port will take "a number of weeks" to set up, the officials said, and will be able to receive large ships carrying food, water medicine, and temporary shelters. Initial shipments will arrive via Cyprus, where Israeli security inspections will take place.