On Wednesday, four ships carrying some 100 troops set sail from Virginia to begin the construction of a temporary offshore pier for delivering food and other necessities to the people of Gaza. This newsletter has mentioned the serious concerns about this mission, especially the danger that American personnel will come under fire. One U.S. military expert, drawing on his own experience, described delivering humanitarian aid as a “nightmare.”

But the offshore pier is an idea that Israeli politicians and experts have been debating for several years, and some remain in favor of it. Among them is Yigal Carmon, who sees the project as “no less than a miracle” because it will undermine both Hamas and its protector, Qatar, while creating a bigger role for the U.S. and United Arab Emirates:

The port initiative will cut off the Hamas-Qatar control of the supplies that until now came through the Rafah crossing [on the Gaza-Egypt border], and from there was stolen by Hamas and later sold to the population for inflated prices. Any weakening of Qatar will make Hamas more cooperative in turning the hostages into a trading asset in negotiations, which is not the case right now, as their main goal is a ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.

The port . . . will enable Israel to carry out the absolutely necessary military operation in Rafah . . . with minimal civilian casualties, since the population will move again to where there is a secure and constant flow of food thanks to the U.S. and the Emirates.

This ongoing supply of humanitarian aid to Gaza could become the beginning of the end to this terrible war if the administration will not heed the Qatari and Iranian attempts to derail it. The worst thing to happen would be if America involves Qatar in the port project. Qatar, being unable to stop the administration, will seek to sabotage the project from within.

While the current Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, has never been friendly to Hamas, his government has objected strenuously to the Israeli campaign in the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip. Haisam Hassanein explains why:

Cairo has long been playing a double game, holding Hamas terrorists near while simultaneously trying to appear helpful to the United States and Israel. Israel taking control of Rafah threatens Egypt’s ability to exploit the chaos in Gaza, both to generate profits for regime insiders and so Cairo can pose as an indispensable mediator and preserve access to U.S. money and arms.

Egyptian security officials have looked the other way while Hamas and other Palestinian militants dug tunnels on the Egyptian-Gaza border. That gave Cairo the ability to use the situation in Gaza as a tool for regional influence and to ensure Egypt’s role in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict would not be eclipsed by regional competitors such as Qatar and Turkey.

Some elements close to the Sisi regime have benefited from Hamas control over Gaza and the Rafah crossing. Media reports indicate an Egyptian company run by one of Sisi’s close allies is making hundreds of millions of dollars by taxing Gazans fleeing the current conflict.

Moreover, writes Judith Miller, the Gaza war has been a godsend to the entire Egyptian economy, which was in dire straits last fall. Since October 7, the International Monetary Fund has given the country a much-needed injection of cash, since the U.S. and other Western countries believe it is a necessary intermediary and stabilizing force. Cairo therefore sees the continuation of the war, rather than an Israeli victory, as most desirable. Hassanein concludes:

Adding to its financial incentive, the Sisi regime views the Rafah crossing as a crucial card in preserving Cairo’s regional standing. Holding it increases Egypt’s relevance to countries that want to send aid to the Palestinians and ensures Washington stays quiet about Egypt’s gross human-rights violations so it can maintain a stable flow of U.S. assistance and weaponry. . . . No serious effort to turn the page on Hamas will yield the desired results without cutting this umbilical cord between the Sisi regime and Hamas.