Biden administration pledges more aid to Gaza civilians, including new field hospital

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power was in Egypt on Tuesday to announce an additional $21 million in humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza, including a field hospital.

“The United States continues to work around the clock to overcome diplomatic and operational hurdles for humanitarian access, present solutions to emerging humanitarian assistance challenges, and significantly scale up this response to where it needs to be,” the USAID said in a statement.

Power arrived alongside 36,000 pounds of medical supplies, food and winter clothing bound for Gaza. It’s the second airlift of humanitarian aid for the enclave after a 54,000-pound shipment last week.

Humanitarian leaders have described a dire situation in Gaza, where an Israeli military offensive has displaced a majority of the territory’s 2.3 million population from their homes and put nearly all of them in need of aid.

A World Health Organization official warned Tuesday that the humanitarian situation in southern Gaza is “getting worse by the hour,” as the Israeli military approaches, adding that “we are looking at an increasing humanitarian disaster.”

The USAID said the $21 million will be used to purchase aid and supplies for about 120,000 people, as well as fund health care services. The department will also partner with a non-governmental organization on a field hospital in Gaza to supplement medical facilities ravaged by conflict and overwhelmed by masses of civilian casualties.

“With partners throughout the region and across the globe, the United States has been leading efforts to address the grave and growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and increase the flow of life-saving humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza,” the department said.

The Biden administration has pressured the Israeli government to better consider Gaza civilians during its offensive. 

About 15,900 Palestinians have died in the war so far, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. That significant and rising toll has sparked immense pressure on the Israeli and U.S. governments, as critics say the Israeli military strategy has put too many civilians at risk.

On Saturday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin warned that further civilian casualties would only assist Hamas in its war effort.

“In this kind of a fight, the center of gravity is the civilian population,” he said. “And if you drive them into the arms of the enemy, you replace a tactical victory with a strategic defeat.”

The war in Gaza began in early October after Hamas killed about 1,200 Israelis in a surprise attack on border communities. Fighting resumed Friday after a week-long pause to free nearly half of the approximately 240 hostages believed to be held by Hamas.