First Port-Free Maritime Shipment Of Aid To Gaza Delivered By Two NGOs

A US charity said on Saturday that its crew in the Gaza Strip finished unpacking the first maritime aid package to reach the restricted area. According to a statement from World Central Kitchen, the cargo had been unloaded and prepared for distribution in Gaza.

The contribution totalled roughly 200 tons of food. The group has also been preparing a second boat with 240 tons of food to sail from Cyprus, marking the beginning of a new maritime assistance route across the eastern Mediterranean. The humanitarian operation aims to alleviate the food shortage that has forced UN and relief workers to issue famine warnings in Gaza.

The shipment comprised pallets of canned goods and bulk products, including carrots, canned tuna, canned corn, chickpeas, flour, salt, parboiled rice, beans, and oil, per the World Central Kitchen. It has specified that the second shipment will include a forklift and a crane to aid with the deliveries.

The humanitarian group also mentioned that it had no information to release about when the second boat and the crew vessel would be capable of embarking. IsIsrael’silitary on Friday also confirmed that the first vessel, operated by Spain’s charSpain’sn Arms, had arrived and mentioned that the soldiers were deployed to conduct a security examination.

The Israelis also mentioned that the delivery of aid by sea didn’t entail a breach of the years-long Gaza blockade, which has reportedly plunged the enclave into deep poverty.

World Central Kitchen had no option but to build a jetty southwest of Gaza City to transfer the aid. Israel’s indIsrael’sate military operation in Gaza has killed at least 31,553 human beings, predominantly children and women, and strikes on civilians have been compared to genocide.

Israel’s forces have also massacred dozens of Gazans as they tried to reach for the aid shipments. Throughout the ongoing war, Israel has bombarded refugee camps, residential buildings, and hospitals, claiming several hundreds of lives each day. 

As burdensome Israeli security checks and logistical barriers impede overland delivery of aid to Gaza, countries have sought alternatives such as new maritime corridors and airdrops. Jose Andres, the founder of World Central Kitchen, mentioned on Friday on X that the first-ever shipment was a test and that thousands of tons could successfully be brought in each week.

Reference: New Arab, CNA

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