European Leaders to Deliver Aid to Gaza by Ship Following Biden’s Announcement
In response to President Biden’s plans for maritime aid delivery to the Gaza Strip, European leaders have announced their intention to deliver aid by ship as early as this weekend. However, aid groups and Gaza officials have criticized shipments by air or sea as too cumbersome, urging for more food and medicine to be supplied by trucks.
The complications of delivering aid to the hungry residents of Gaza were highlighted when authorities in Gaza reported that at least five Palestinians were killed and several others were wounded after being struck by packages of humanitarian aid dropped from an aircraft.
The United Nations has warned that months of war and an Israeli blockade have left hundreds of thousands of Gazans on the brink of starvation, prompting various proposals to expedite the delivery of essential supplies. Israel insists on inspecting all supplies entering Gaza, and aid trucks have only been allowed through two border crossings in southern Gaza.
President Biden outlined a U.S. military plan to build a floating pier on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to supply food, water, medicine, and other necessities to civilians, with the capacity to deliver up to two million meals a day. However, the project is expected to take 30 to 60 days to complete, raising concerns about addressing famine in Gaza in the immediate future.
Aid group Doctors Without Borders criticized the U.S. maritime plans as a “glaring distraction,” emphasizing that the delivery of aid is a political issue rather than a logistical one. They called on Israel to facilitate the flow of supplies into Gaza.
European leaders, including Britain, the European Union, and the United Arab Emirates, have pledged to join the U.S. maritime effort, emphasizing the need for aid to be delivered through all possible routes. The first ship carrying aid could depart from Cyprus for Gaza soon, with more to follow on Sunday.
The aid delivery efforts have been complicated by the ongoing war in Gaza, with shortages of food and supplies particularly acute in northern Gaza. Humanitarian groups have called on Israel to reopen a major border crossing in the region to facilitate aid distribution.
Plans for a sea route to deliver aid to Gaza began taking shape months ago, with Cyprus initiating an effort to collect shipments, inspect them, and send them through a secure sea corridor to Gaza. The aid will be distributed in part by renowned chef José Andrés, founder of the World Central Kitchen.
Efforts to deliver aid to Gaza have faced challenges, with incidents of aid packages being dropped from aircraft resulting in casualties. The need for more overland crossings to facilitate aid delivery has been emphasized by U.N. relief officials.
As the international community mobilizes to provide aid to Gaza, the focus remains on finding effective and efficient ways to deliver essential supplies to the residents in need.
