While the UN fears widespread famine in the Gaza Strip, the first humanitarian aid boat is very close to the coast. Unloading is scheduled for this Friday, March 15.
Very close to Gaza. The Spanish boat Open Arms carrying 200 tonnes of humanitarian aid intended for the Gaza Strip was seen this Friday morning off the coast of Gaza City as indicated by an AFP journalist present on site. According to Vessel Finder, the boat is located less than 5 kilometers from the coast.
Among the 200 tonnes of food aid collected and being transported to Gaza aboard the boat that left Cyprus two days earlier, we find rice, vegetables, sources of protein, canned goods… A wide range of food to meet the needs of civilians who find themselves in the midst of armed conflict. The contribution is already colossal and “our team has 500 additional tonnes of aid in Cyprus, ready to be loaded on future boats” has already warned José Andrés, the starred chef at the head of the operation with the NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK) of which he is the founder.
After weeks of preparation, WCKs Operation Safeena is underway. We dispatched almost 200 tons of food for Palestinians in need. The aid is sailing on the Open Arms boat and will be delivered to Gaza where our team is building a jetty to offload the shipment.#ChefsForThePeople pic.twitter.com/Zu1FSBNfeu
— World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) March 12, 2024
A landing by the new pier
In fact, the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza is a real headache. This is why WCK is working tirelessly to build a jetty to unload the aid before loading it onto trucks that will deliver the food. This pier is the only hope of receiving aid from the sea. Delivery of aid will be “carried out in coordination with Israeli civil and security authorities, in accordance with Israeli government directives and at the request of the US government.” indicates Tsahal in The Times of Israel.
The time of arrival of the boat and that of disembarkation have not yet been communicated by the NGOs and those responsible for the operation, nor by the Israeli authorities. However, it is expected for this Friday, March 15, 2024. Some Gazans are already gathered on the coast and waiting for the boat. “An Israeli ship will tow the aid to a temporary pier constructed in the central Gaza Strip. On the coast, the IDF will secure the distribution of humanitarian aid at a certain distance from the air and sea, in the same way that it will secure ground convoys” we can also read in the columns of the Hebrew online daily.
“We need to open this corridor with a continuous flow of boats”
“We hope to unload the aid as soon as it is possible to dock, but many factors play into this complicated operation,” explained Erin Gore, executive director of WCK, on Thursday. This is the first sea route opened to the Palestinian enclave since the start of the war on October 7. “We know that this is not enough. This is why we must open this corridor with a continuous flow of boats” continues Erin Gore in the columns of TV5 Monde. This humanitarian aid by boat is vital, while the UN fears widespread famine in the Gaza Strip, particularly in the North. The territory has no less than 2.4 million inhabitants. For the moment, aid by land, arriving mainly from Egypt, remains very insufficient.