The handover will barely make a dent in Gaza's famine crisis, as Israel steps up attacks on aid seekers in the enclave.
An aid ship loaded with food left Cyprus for Gaza, after days of delay.
The Open Arms, owned by a charity of the same name, left Larnaca port early on Tuesday, towing a barge containing about 200 tonnes of flour, rice and protein. The voyage is a test of a planned maritime corridor to bring aid to a population on the brink of famine.
The mission, funded primarily by the United Arab Emirates, is organized by the US-based charity World Central Kitchen (WCK).
The 210 nautical mile (390 kilometer) journey across the eastern Mediterranean to Gaza with a heavy tow barge could take up to two days, Cypriot officials said.
Open Arms' voyage will test a planned sea corridor to bring aid to Gaza that was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides last Friday in Larnaca.
The aid provided by WCK sailed for Gaza on @openarms_fund boat. We sent almost 200 tons of food: rice, flour, legumes, canned vegetables and proteins. Next to @UAEAid & @CyprusMFAOur relief team is working to send as many relief ships as possible.#ChefsForPeople pic.twitter.com/oypXF8WbDH
– World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) March 12, 2024
“Our goal is to establish a maritime highway of ships and barges supplied with millions of meals heading continuously toward Gaza,” WCK founder José Andrés and CEO Erin Gore said in a statement.
With no port infrastructure in the enclave, WCK says it is building a pier in Gaza with material from destroyed buildings and rubble.
Andrés said construction is “underway” in a post on X.
.@WCKicina “Operation Safeena”, (ship, ship) on the way! First trip to the coasts of Gaza, learning. At the same time that @openarms_fund is moving, the construction of the pier is underway… we may fail, but the biggest failure will be not trying! Thanks to everyone who did… pic.twitter.com/vKavoczEJN
— José Andrés 🇺🇸🇪🇸🇺🇦 (@chefjoseandres) March 12, 2024
Another 500 tons of aid accumulated in Cyprus is ready to be sent, the statement added.
Attacks on aid seekers
The initial delivery will have little effect on chronic food shortages in Gaza.
At least half a million, or one in four people in Gaza, face famine as the holy month of Ramadan begins.
Israel implemented a complete blockade of Gaza in October and has allowed very little aid to enter by road. Countries such as Jordan and the United States have airlifted aid, but that strategy is unlikely to be effective enough.
Meanwhile, the aid that is arriving has led to more deaths as the Israeli military has launched increasingly frequent attacks against those seeking help.
At least nine people were killed on Tuesday and dozens more were injured while waiting for aid trucks near the Kuwait roundabout in Gaza City.
“Unfortunately, this has become the new normal for aid seekers and starving Palestinians stranded in the northern part of Gaza City,” Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud reported from Rafah in southern Gaza.
“We have seen this happen almost daily. “People gather, wait for food supplies, 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 solutions
The attempt to establish the sea corridor complements another complicated solution planned by the United States to build a temporary dock off the coast of Gaza, a move criticized as an attempt to divert attention from Washington's continued support for Israel as famine looms and The attack persists.
However, with the Israeli military maintaining tight control of land borders and airdrops considered costly and largely ineffective, aid deliveries by water are now seen as key.
Last week, five people were killed and several injured after a parachute that a humanitarian drop failed to open caused a platform to crash into a crowd of people waiting for food north of the Shati refugee camp in the city of Loop.
