All cargo offloaded from first aid ship to reach Gaza
The first aid vessel to reach Gaza, operated by the Spanish charity Open Arms, has offloaded 200 tonnes of food aid to the besieged enclave, completing a first pilot project that could open the way for more assistance to come in via maritime corridors. US charity World Central Kitchen said “all cargo was offloaded and is being readied for distribution in Gaza”.
The group said earlier this week that a second shipment was being prepared in Cyprus and that thousands of tonnes of aid could reach Gaza each week going forward.
Humanitarian organisations have repeatedly called for Israel to open more land border crossings to let more humanitarian aid through, insisting that airdrops and maritime corridors are costly and inefficient ways of delivering assistance.
Second aid shipment for Gaza ready to sail from Cyprus
The second load of food aid is ready to depart by sea from Cyprus to Gaza, according to the island’s president, after the first aid shipment landed in the besieged Palestinian enclave overnight. “The first ship has started its return to Cyprus, and we are ready to dispatch the second ship,” Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides told journalists.
The second ship, with 240 tonnes of aid, is moored at Larnaca port awaiting a signal to sail.
US charity World Central Kitchen, which arranged the mission with the UAE and Spanish NGO Open Arms with support from the Cypriot government, said the new shipment included pallets of canned goods and bulk products.
Almost 200 tonnes of food arrived in the enclave late on Friday, the first shipment in a new maritime aid route.
The North of Gaza alone needs 2,320 tonnes of food and water a day to survive. That plus medical supplies, tents, fuel, solar panels, blankets.
That means 23 of these ships a day would be the minimum just for food and water.
It's better than planes which only drop 18 tonnes each, but just a slightly bigger drop in the ocean of dire need.
Egypt demands Israel to remove restrictions on entry of aid into Gaza through land ports
Ahmed Abu Zeid, the spokesperson of the Egyptian foreign ministry, has said in a statement on Facebook that his country “appreciates and welcomes every effort aimed at alleviating the humanitarian suffering of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip”.
He thanked “all international and regional parties that contributed to facilitate the arrival of such aid across the maritime corridor”. Abu Zeid added that “Egypt continues to make all efforts to strengthen the delivery of urgent aid to the sector through the Rafah Crossing and through the air descent.”
He said Egypt is demanding “Israel to remove barriers and restrictions on the entry of aid through land ports, and calling on it to operate the rest of the crossings to bring in more aid to avoid the worsening of the humanitarian situation in Gaza”.
