The plan to build a port to deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza is “a sign of helplessness and weakness on the part of the international community”, the head of Amnesty International (AI) said on Wednesday, according to AFP.

More than five months after the start of the conflict between the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and Israel, the 2.4 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip are facing a dramatic humanitarian crisis.

Faced with enormous difficulties in delivering aid by land, several countries, including the United States, resorted to airdrops and sending aid via the sea corridor from Cyprus.

But the UN and public organizations are categorical: sea transport and parachutes cannot replace land transport.

“The parachute drops and the construction of the port are signs of powerlessness and weakness on the part of the international community,” Amnesty Secretary General Agnes Callamar said at a press conference in Madrid.

“The international community must be ready to hold Israel accountable,” she said of the challenges of delivering aid by road through the crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

“At the same time, we continue to transfer weapons” to Israel, she added. “This is really unacceptable.”

Last week, US President Joe Biden announced a decision to create a temporary port in Gaza to speed up the delivery of aid, with the Pentagon saying it could take up to 60 days.

Callamard expressed “great concern” about this, as “the proposed investments in the construction of the port and the transportation of humanitarian aid by sea seem to indicate that the international community (…) expects the situation to continue.”

“Why make an investment that will last two months?” she asked.

“This is extremely worrying,” she said, noting that “more than 30,000 people have died” since the conflict began on October 7, according to figures provided by Hamas’ Health Ministry.

“We must do much more if we are to fulfill our international obligations, including our responsibility to prevent genocide,” Callamard added.

“We really need to find other ways, and building a port that will last two or three months is not really enough,” she concluded.