The ship Opens Arms left Cyprus for the Gaza coast on October 12 with 200 tonnes of food supplies, the first ship to sail as part of a maritime aid corridor initiated by Cyprus, with the support of the European Union, the UK and the US. Given the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the charities leading the effort felt they couldn’t wait for the US military to complete a pier to deliver aid.
The 200 tonnes of food supplies transported by the Open Arms is already bringing hope to the people of Gaza. Some Gazans even rushed to the beach near Gaza City on Sunday, hoping to see the ship and its desperately needed cargo arrive, AFP reported.
Aid agencies have warned of looming famine in the Palestinian territory of 2.4 million inhabitants.
Israel has imposed a near-total blockade on Gaza since the start of its war with Hamas five months ago. Given the humanitarian emergency that has resulted, the EU decided to push for a maritime aid route via Cyprus, the EU country closest to Gaza.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday said it was the first time a ship had been authorized to deliver aid directly to Gaza since 2005 and that the EU would work with “smaller ships” until the US military completes work on its floating port off the Gazan coast.
Open Arms, a Spanish charity, is partnered by the US charity World Central Kitchen (WCK), founded by the Spanish-American restaurateur José Andrés. Open Arms spokeswoman Laura Lanuza said that WCK’s teams in Gaza were "constructing a dock" to unload the Open Arms’s cargo. The charities have kept the location of the landing point secret for security reasons.
Under Israeli land, air, and sea blockade for sixteen years, Gaza has no functioning port.
"We have been working on this technical project for several weeks,” explained Lanuza.
“We had to be imaginative and find a way to overcome all these obstacles related to the landing site that will be done from the platform we are transporting," she said.
The barge, a floating platform carrying 200 tonnes of food, is currently being towed by the humanitarian ship in the middle of the Mediterranean. In a video filmed before the fleet's departure from Cyprus and posted on X, the NGO WCK explains: "You can see behind me, we have this barge. It's about 200 tonnes that we are currently loading with all kinds of food aid. Once it reaches its destination, it will be lifted by a crane. Then we will transport the supplies to the northern part of the Gaza Strip to help those in need at this time."
Construction of a jetty in Gaza
WCK says its teams in Gaza are working "day and night" on the construction of a pier, leveraging the extensive experience it has providing humanitarian aid worldwide. "In Gaza, it already manages around 60 kitchens run by local residents, mainly women, who cook and prepare meals for those in need," reports the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
However, “the influx of large quantities of goods will require special preparations – warehouses, transportation, security, and supervision of distribution – which have not yet been organized", Haaretz points out.
Security is of the uppermost in people’s minds, after the tragedy on March 1 in which over 115 Palestinians were killed during a humanitarian aid delivery, crushed in a stampede and also hit by Israeli gunfire.
"We have to be careful. We have every guarantee that everything will be fine, but the reality in Gaza is changing all the time," admits Lanuza. "We're trying to avoid any danger to the population, of course."
Approved by Israel
The aid corridor, supported by Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates, has received approval from Israel. The ship's cargo was inspected in advance by Israeli military personnel in Larnaca to ensure it did not contain any military equipment, weapons, or materials that could be used for military purposes, according to Haaretz.
Israel has also committed to participating in the construction project of a pier promised by the United States on the Gaza coast. The Pentagon specified that building this structure will take up to 60 days and likely involve over 1,000 soldiers. The temporary port "could provide over two million meals per day to the citizens of Gaza", according to Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryde.
A US Navy ship has departed from the United States with the necessary equipment for the construction of the pier. The Israeli military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, stated that Israel is "coordinating the establishment" of this infrastructure.
Israel’s Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant, posting on X, said that aid from the maritime corridor “will help to achieve one of the main goals of the war: The collapse of Hamas rule. We will make sure that the aid goes to those who need it, and not to those who don't.”
Israel accuses the Palestinian movement, which took control in Gaza in 2007, of diverting humanitarian aid within the territory.
A second humanitarian cargo ship in the starting blocks
The construction of a safe, temporary port should help ensure the arrival of aid by sea.
According to Gaza's ministry of health, 25 people, mostly children, have already died from malnutrition and dehydration, as massive shortages leave the enclave on the brink of famine.
Open Arms is already preparing a second humanitarian aid ship from Cyprus with a much larger cargo. Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said Tuesday that “if all goes according to plan... we have already put in place the mechanism for a second and much bigger cargo.
“And then we’ll be working towards making this a more systematic exercise with increased volumes,” he added.
The UN believes that sending aid by sea and increasing airdrops of food cannot replace the need for access to Gaza by road. While welcoming the news of the first humanitarian ship, Jens Laerke, the spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, reiterated on Tuesday that it was “not a substitute for the overland transport of food and other emergency aid into Gaza and particularly northern Gaza. It cannot make up for that”.
The airdrop of parcels over the city of Gaza on March 9 resulted in the death of five people and the injury of 10, according to a hospital source. The Jordanian and American militaries denied that their aircraft were involved in the incident. Belgium, Egypt, France, and the Netherlands are also conducting aid drops in the territory.
(With AFP)
This article has been translated from the original in French.
