Global News Desk:
On Saturday, a US charity
reported that its team in the conflict-affected Gaza Strip completed the
unloading of the initial maritime aid delivery to the blockaded region. World
Central Kitchen stated in a release that all cargo has been offloaded and is
being prepared for distribution within Gaza. The aid shipment consists of
nearly 200 tonnes of food.
The group is preparing a second
boat of 240 tonnes of food to set sail from Cyprus, the starting point of a new
maritime aid route across the eastern Mediterranean. The humanitarian effort is
intended to mitigate food shortages that have prompted UN famine warnings in
Gaza from the United Nations and aid workers.
"That shipment includes
pallets of canned goods and bulk product including beans, carrots, canned tuna,
chickpeas, canned corn, parboiled rice, flour, oil and salt," World
Central Kitchen said. The second shipment would also include a forklift and a
crane to assist with deliveries, it added. The humanitarian group said it had
"no information to release on when our second boat and the crew ship will
be able to embark."
The Israeli military on Friday
confirmed the first vessel, operated by the Spanish charity Open Arms, had
arrived and said soldiers had been deployed to secure the area and conduct a
security inspection.
The military also said the
delivery of humanitarian aid by sea did not constitute a breach of its
years-long maritime blockade of Gaza, which has been ruled since 2007 by Hamas.
World Central Kitchen had to build a jetty southwest of Gaza City to deliver
the aid.
The war in Gaza was triggered by
Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted in the
deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of
official Israeli figures.
Israel's retaliatory military
campaign to destroy Hamas has killed at least 31,490 people in Gaza, mostly
women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run
territory. As cumbersome Israeli security checks and logistical hurdles slow
overland aid delivery to Gaza, countries have pursued alternatives including
airdrops and the new maritime corridor.
Jose Andres, founder of World
Central Kitchen, said on social media platform X on Friday that the first
shipment was "a test" and that "we could bring thousands of
tonnes each week."