RAFAH — An aid ship loaded with some 200 tonnes of food set sail for Gaza on Tuesday in a pilot programme for the opening of a sea corridor to the territory, where the five-month-old Israel-Hamas war has driven hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to the brink of starvation.
The food was gathered by World Food Kitchen, the charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés, and is being carried on a barge attached to a ship belonging to the Spanish aid group Open Arms. It is expected to arrive at an undisclosed location on the Gaza coastline in two to three days. Andrés and the Open Arms boat captain, Oscar Camps, confirmed the food was destined for northern Gaza.
The United States has separately announced plans to construct a sea bridge near Gaza in order to deliver aid, but it will likely be several weeks before it is operational. President Joe Biden’s administration has provided crucial military aid for Israel while urging it to facilitate more humanitarian access.
The war, triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, has killed over 30,000 Palestinians and driven most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people from their homes. A quarter of Gaza’s population is starving, according to the United Nations., because they cannot find enough food or afford it at vastly inflated prices.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt had tried to broker a cease-fire and hostage release ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began on Sunday. But the talks stalled last week as Hamas demanded that any temporary pause in the fighting come with guarantees for ending the war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to expand the offensive into the southern city of Rafah, where half of Gaza’s population has sought refuge, and to keep fighting until Hamas has been completely dismantled and all the captives it is holding have been returned.
Aid groups say it is nearly impossible to deliver aid in much of the territory because of Israeli restrictions, ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of law and order after the Hamas-run police force largely vanished from the streets.
Conditions are especially dire in northern Gaza, which has suffered widespread devastation and been largely cut off by Israeli forces since October. Up to 300,000 Palestinians are believed to have remained there despite Israeli evacuation orders, with many reduced to eating animal feed in recent weeks.
On Monday, the first day of the normally festive month of Ramadan, children with pots lined up at a charity kitchen in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp. Each was given a small portion of cooked carrots and sweet potatoes to break the dawn-to-dusk fast.
“Our children can’t find anything to eat,” said Bassam al-Haw, a volunteer. “No food, no water, no flour.”
The planned sea route has the support of the European Union, the United States, the United Arab Emirates and other countries. The US and other countries have also launched airdrops of aid in recent days, but such efforts are costly and unlikely to meet the mounting needs.
