World Central Kitchen spokeswoman Linda Ross said the Open Arms was docked at a newly constructed pier on the Gaza coast and workers were beginning to move food onto land. It remains unclear how food will be distributed to Palestinian civilians.
Food for ships is in desperate need of food in Gaza, where officials say around 24 children have already died from malnutrition and hundreds of thousands of others are “on the brink of starvation”, according to the United Nations. It is being announced. But delivering aid by sea is not as efficient as aid by land, and humanitarian organizations have been urging Israel for months to further open land routes, ease restrictions on convoys and address operational concerns. I've been asking for it.
“There are no meaningful alternatives to the many land routes and entry points from Israel to Gaza to deliver large-scale aid,” UN aid officials Sigrid Kaag and Jorge Moreira da Silva said in a statement this week. No,” he said. Still, they welcomed the opening of the maritime corridor, as more humanitarian aid is needed in Gaza.
Israel tightened its already restrictive blockade of Gaza after the Hamas-led attack on October 7, but has said throughout the war that it is committed to accepting as much aid as possible to Gaza. It blames delays in UN staffing and logistics.
This week, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant visited northern Gaza to inspect preparations for a new maritime humanitarian route, amid growing international pressure to allow more aid. Gallant, who in October ordered the supply of “electricity, food, water and fuel” to Gaza, called aid a “core issue” in a statement released by the Defense Ministry about his trip.
But as roads are damaged by insecurity, illegal activity and Israeli attacks, safely distributing food where it's needed is difficult, as was the case with the United Nations aid group, which was forced to suspend deliveries in northern Gaza last month. You may face many hurdles.
José Andres, the famous Spanish-American chef who founded World Central Kitchen, acknowledged the challenges in an interview with the New York Times last week, but said, “We are working hard to feed the people of Gaza.'' It's worth trying to see what's possible,” he added.
The group said a second ship carrying 300 tonnes of aid was being loaded in Cyprus on Thursday, but it was not clear when it would leave.
Gaya Gupta, Monika Pronczuk, Michael Levenson and Christina Morales contributed reporting.
