TEHRAN- President Joe Biden’s focus on Israel’s war on Gaza in his State of the Union address highlighted the pivotal role that the issue will play in the November presidential election in the United States.

Supporting Israel is among the top priorities of the U.S. foreign policy. In line with that, Biden has thrown his administration’s full weight behind the regime’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip which began in early October.

During his nearly 70-minute speech in the House chamber, Biden once again expressed Washington’s staunch support for Israel, saying the regime has the right to defend itself from Hamas attacks.

Biden’s unwavering support for Israel’s war on Gaza has posed a risk to his reelection bid.

In the Democratic primaries, particularly on Super Tuesday, a significant number of people, including Arab and Muslim voters who helped Biden beat Donald Trump in the 2020 election marked their ballots "uncommitted".

They are angry at the Biden administration for standing by Israel’s onslaught on Gaza. 

The White House is also under pressure from some Democrats who challenge the U.S. administration’s pro-Israel policies as the death toll from the regime’s onslaught on Gaza keeps rising. 

So, Biden had to make critical remarks about Israel in his State of the Union address to appease domestic opposition. 

“Israel also has a fundamental responsibility to protect innocent civilians in Gaza…. Israel must allow more aid into Gaza and ensure that humanitarian workers aren’t caught in the crossfire… Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip,” Biden said. 

Israel has imposed a total siege on Gaza and limited the entry of food, water, medicines and other supplies, prompting warnings from the UN about the risk of an imminent famine in the territory. 

Israel has also killed Palestinians who seek aid in Gaza. On February 29, Israeli forces massacred more than 100 Palestinians in a Gaza City neighborhood who were waiting for deliveries of food from aid trucks. 

Under immense domestic and international pressure over the massacre, the U.S. began to airdrop food into Gaza. But the U.S. measure has been described as inefficient and a publicity stunt move by aid organizations. 

In order to show that he cares about the lives of the Gazans, Biden announced in his speech that the U.S. will build a temporary pier on Gaza’s coastline to allow aid to enter.

“Tonight, I’m directing the U.S. military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the Gaza coast that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters.” 

The establishment of a maritime corridor like airdrops of food drew strong criticism.

The director of Nursing at Gaza European Hospital told Al Jazeera that the construction of the pier “may take several weeks, meaning that our people will continue to suffer”.

Saleh Al-Hams also described the U.S. move as “reprehensible” saying, “The pier would be only a few kilometers from the Rafah border, where hundreds of trucks are lined up waiting permission to enter.”

The CEO of Medical Aid for Palestinians also told the Qatari news network that “airdrops, temporary seaports and the like are not realistic or lasting solutions to stave off looming famine and sustain life in Gaza”. 

“Five months on, it is long past time for the US, the UK and others to use their substantial weight to ensure that their ally Israel immediately reopens land crossings into Gaza,” Melanie Ward said. 

She added, “Only an immediate and lasting ceasefire will allow us to deliver the massive humanitarian response that is required after five months of Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment and siege of the people of Gaza.”

The U.S. plan to construct the pier is nothing more than spreading a pure political propaganda as Biden is seeking to assure disgruntled voters as well as members of the Democratic party that the loss of civilian lives in Gaza matters to him. 

Israel has killed nearly 31,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and injured more than 72,000 others since October 7.

The U.S. can exert pressure on Israel to lift the Gaza siege and open the crossings if it wants to avert a looming famine and a deep humanitarian crisis in Gaza.  

Biden can use Washington’s powerful leverage at the United Nations Security Council against Israel. The White House can also reconsider its military support for Israel as the regime continues its war of genocide in Gaza in defiance of international calls to stop the onslaught. 

Biden seeks to establish the pier because he wants to obscure his reluctance to use Washington’s diplomatic and military leverage to force Israel to end the Gaza onslaught and allow humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.