Hamas Sees Biden's Gaza Aid Plan as 'Positive Step'

A senior Hamas official has shared with Newsweek the Palestinian movement's response to President Joe Biden's State of the Union address, offering rare approval of a newly announced U.S. plan to provide aid to Gaza while overall condemning Washington's approach to the group's ongoing war with Israel.

The plan, unveiled by Biden during his annual speech delivered Thursday evening at the Capitol, would see the U.S. military establish a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza in order to ramp up humanitarian assistance to the war-torn Palestinian territory.

The move comes as international pressure mounts on Israel to do more to ensure essential goods reach the roughly 2.2 million residents of Gaza in the midst of the deadliest-ever conflict to rock the densely populated Mediterranean strip.

Hamas, which sparked the latest confrontation by leading an unprecedented series of attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023, has blamed Israel for failing to allow enough aid into Gaza and has called on the international community to do more.