ISTANBUL

In a phone call, US Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday discussed Gaza more than five months into a controversial Israeli offensive on the Palestinian enclave.

“Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant today about Israeli operations against Hamas in Gaza,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

“Secretary Austin discussed the Department of Defense’s humanitarian airdrops to Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” it added.

The statement said Austin underlined the vital importance of boosting humanitarian assistance through every available means of entry and guaranteeing the secure dispensation of aid upon its arrival in Gaza.

The statement also said the defense chiefs also discussed the critical need to promptly secure the release of hostages currently held captive by Hamas in the wake of the group’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

US President Joe Biden acknowledged the unprecedented nature of Israel's ongoing war on the besieged Gaza Strip during his State of the Union address Thursday evening.

Biden told how the conflict has led to over 30,000 Palestinian deaths in the enclave, saying the war has "taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined."

He said "most" of the dead "are not Hamas" and that "thousands and thousands" of those who have been killed are "innocents, women and children, girls and boys."

"Nearly 2 million Palestinians are under bombardment or displacement. Homes destroyed, neighborhoods in rubble, cities in ruin. Families without food, water, medicine. It's heartbreaking," Biden told a joint session of Congress.

The president formally announced that he is directing the US military to erect a floating pier off the coast of Gaza, which he said will be capable of receiving "large shipments" of food, water, medicine, and temporary shelters for Gaza's beleaguered population.

He said no US troops will be on the ground in Gaza to carry out the short-term project.

"A temporary pier will enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day," he said. "Israel must do its part. Israel must allow more aid into Gaza, ensure humanitarian workers aren't caught in the cross-fire."

Addressing the Israeli government, Biden said humanitarian aid "cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip."

"Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority," he said.

Israel has waged a military offensive on the Gaza Strip, now on day 153, in retaliation for the Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian group Hamas which killed some 1,200 people.

Nearly 30,900 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza and nearly 73,000 others injured amid widespread devastation in the coastal enclave. Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving much of its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

In an interim ruling in January, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.