A ship carrying 200 tonnes of aid for Gaza has left Cyprus. The shipment is a pilot project to open a sea corridor to deliver supplies to a population that aid agencies say is on the brink of famine.
But senior UN officials said it could not replace the delivery of humanitarian aid by land from Egypt and Jordan.
Separately, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday it had managed to get the first aid road convoy into Gaza City in the north of the Gaza Strip since 20 February.
The charity ship Open Arms was seen sailing out of Larnaca port, towing a barge containing flour, rice and protein.
The mission was funded mostly by the United Arab Emirates and organised by the US-based charity World Central Kitchen (WCK).
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who days ago announced the initiative on a visit to Cyprus, hailed the initiative as a “sign of hope”.
“We will work hard together for many more ships to follow,” she said on social media platform X. “We will do everything in our power for aid to reach Palestinians.”
The voyage to Gaza takes about 15 hours but a heavy tow barge could considerably lengthen the trip, possibly up to two days. Cyprus is just over 320km northwest of Gaza.
The US military said one of its vessels was also en route to provide humanitarian relief to Gaza by sea.
With aid agencies saying deliveries into Gaza have been held up by bureaucratic obstacles and insecurity since the start of the war on 7 October, attention has shifted towards alternative routes including sea and air drops.
Washington had said for weeks that it hoped for a truce deal in time for the Ramadan Muslim holy month that began this week, but it has so far failed to materialise.
Given the lack of port infrastructure in Gaza, WCK said it was building a landing jetty with material from destroyed buildings and rubble, an initiative separate to a plan announced by US President Joe Biden last week to build a temporary pier.
Displaced Palestinians gathered to receive food at a donation point in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on 7 March. Source: AAP / Yasser Qudihe
WCK activation manager Juan Camilo Jimenez told the Reuters news agency a second vessel would depart within the next few days.
The UN said such efforts can provide only limited relief as long as most land crossings to the coastal Palestinian enclave are completely sealed off by Israel, with “no meaningful substitute” on offer.
Israel says it is not to blame for Gaza’s hunger, as it is allowing aid through two crossings at the southern edge of the territory. Aid agencies say that is not enough to get sufficient supplies through, particularly to the northern part of the enclave that is effectively cut off.
Gaza’s health ministry said the number of Palestinians who have died of dehydration and malnutrition in the last two weeks had reached 27, after the deaths of two people on Tuesday.
The UN estimates a quarter of the 2.3 million population in Gaza is now at risk of starvation.
Israel has bombarded Gaza since Hamas’ 7 October attack in which more than 1,200 people, including an estimated 30 children, were killed and over 200 hostages taken, according to the Israeli government. More than 31,045 people have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
The 7 October attack was a significant escalation in the long-standing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Ceasefire talks have so far failed to reach a breakthrough, with Israel saying it is interested only in a temporary truce to free hostages, and Hamas saying it will let them go only as part of a deal to permanently end the war.
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