The delivery will make little difference to Gaza’s famine crisis, as Israel steps up its attacks on aid seekers in the enclave.
A humanitarian ship loaded with food has left Cyprus for Gaza, after several days of delay.
The Open Arms, owned by the charity of the same name, left the port of Larnaca early on Tuesday, towing a barge containing around 200 tonnes of flour, rice and protein. This trip is a test of a maritime corridor planned to deliver aid to a population on the brink of famine.
Funded mainly by the United Arab Emirates, the mission is organized by the American charity World Central Kitchen (WCK).
The 210 nautical mile (390 km) journey across the eastern Mediterranean to Gaza with a heavy towing barge could take up to two days, Cypriot officials said.
The Open Arms trip will test a planned maritime corridor to deliver aid to Gaza, announced last Friday in Larnaca by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.
Aid provided by WCK headed to Gaza on @openarms_fund boat. We shipped nearly 200 tons of food: rice, flour, legumes, canned vegetables and proteins. Alongside the @UAEAid & @CyprusMFAour rescue team is working to send as many aid boats as possible.#ChefsForThePeople pic.twitter.com/oypXF8WbDH
– World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) March 12, 2024
“Our goal is to establish a maritime highway of boats and barges stocked with millions of meals continuously heading to Gaza,” WCK founder Jose Andres and executive director Erin Gore said in a statement.
In the absence of port infrastructure in the enclave, WCK says it is building a landing jetty in Gaza with materials from destroyed buildings and rubble.
Andres said construction was “well underway” in an article on X.
.@WCKitchen “Operation Safeena”, (boat, ship) on the way! First trip to the coasts of Gaza, learning. At the same time as @openarms_fund things are moving, the construction of the pier is on track….we can fail, but the biggest failure will be not trying! Thanks to everyone who made it… pic.twitter.com/vKavoczEJN
— José Andrés 🇺🇸🇪🇸🇺🇦 (@chefjoseandres) March 12, 2024
An additional 500 tonnes of aid gathered in Cyprus are ready for delivery, the statement added.
Attacks on aid seekers
The initial delivery will have little effect on the chronic food shortage in Gaza.
At least half a million, or one in four people in Gaza, face starvation at the start of the holy month of Ramadan.
Israel imposed a total blockade of Gaza in October and allowed very little aid by road. Countries such as Jordan and the United States have carried out aid airdrops, but this strategy is unlikely to be effective enough.
Meanwhile, the aid delivery has led to more deaths as the Israeli army has launched increasingly frequent attacks on aid seekers.
At least nine people were killed on Tuesday, and dozens more injured, as they waited for aid trucks near the Kuwait roundabout in Gaza City.
“This has unfortunately become the new normal for aid seekers and hungry Palestinians stranded in the northern part of Gaza City,” Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hani Mahmoud reported from Rafah in southern Gaza.
“We now see this phenomenon almost daily. People gather, wait for food and are attacked by the Israeli army. »
Late last month, at least 112 people were killed in the so-called “flour massacre” when Israeli troops opened fire on hundreds of people searching for food.
Complex workarounds
The attempt to establish the sea corridor complements another complicated workaround planned by the United States to build a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza, a move criticized as an attempt to distract from Washington’s continued support to Israel as famine threatens and attacks persist.
However, while the Israeli military maintains a tight grip on land borders and airdrops are considered costly and largely ineffective, aid deliveries by sea are now considered essential.
Last week, five people were killed and several injured after a humanitarian airdrop landed and failed to open, causing a pallet to fall onto a crowd of people waiting for food north of the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City.
