A ship carrying 200 tons of aid approached the Gaza coast on Friday, with the aim of opening a sea route from Cyprus to ease the humanitarian crisis in the enclave, five months into the war between Israel and Hamas.
The ship, operated by Spanish aid organization Open Arms, set sail from Cyprus on Tuesday carrying a barge loaded with food sent by World Central Kitchen, a charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés. did. It could be seen off the coast of Gaza on Friday morning.
Israel is increasing pressure to allow more aid to Gaza. The United States has joined other countries in airlifting supplies to isolated areas in northern Gaza and has announced another plan to build a pier to receive aid.
Aid groups said airdrops and sea transport were far less efficient ways to deliver the large amounts of aid needed in Gaza. Instead, the groups have made land deliveries nearly impossible due to military restrictions, continued hostilities, and breakdowns in order after Hamas-run police forces have all but disappeared from the streets. It calls on Israel to guarantee safe passage for truck convoys. Since the war began, the number of supply trucks entering Gaza per day is far below the 500 that entered Gaza before October 7.
Earlier this week, Israel allowed six aid trucks to enter the north directly, in a step-by-step measure long sought by aid groups.
World Central Kitchen operates 65 kitchens across Gaza, from which it has served 32 million meals since the war began, the organization said. World Central Kitchen spokeswoman Linda Ross said the supplies include rice, flour, lentils, beans, tuna and canned meat.
The plan is to distribute food in the northern part of the country, a target area largely destroyed in Israel's initial assault on the Gaza Strip, which has been largely cut off by Israeli forces since October. Up to 300,000 Palestinians are believed to remain there despite Israeli evacuation orders, many of whom have turned to animal feed in recent weeks. While the aid is only a fraction of what is needed, the shipment was intended to pave the way for other larger shipments, route officials said.
Cypriot Foreign Minister Konstantinos Kombos said a second ship with more aid would head to Gaza once the first ship's aid was unloaded and distributed. He declined to say when the second ship would depart, saying it would depend in part on whether the delivery of Open Arms goes smoothly.
The Israel-Hamas war was sparked by Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, which left 1,200 people dead and another 250 taken hostage in Gaza. Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed more than 31,000 Palestinians and forced most of Gaza's 2.3 million people to flee their homes. According to the United Nations, a quarter of Gaza's population is starving.
The ship was discovered off the coast hours after Gaza's Palestinian Health Ministry accused Israeli forces of attacking near an aid distribution center in northern Gaza, killing 20 people and injuring 155 others.
The Israeli army said in a statement that Palestinian gunmen fired the shots and that Israeli troops, who had secured a convoy of 31 aid trucks, did not fire at the waiting crowd or the convoy. . Some people in the crowd were reportedly hit by the truck.
The Health Ministry said a group waiting for aid near a roundabout in Kuwait late Thursday came under Israeli fire.
The ministry announced Friday that 149 people were killed in the past 24 hours, bringing the number of Palestinians killed in the war to at least 31,490. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its death toll, but says women and children account for two-thirds of the deaths.
On February 29, 118 Palestinians were killed in a bloody incident involving an aid truck in northern Gaza. The Israeli military said some of its troops opened fire on people in the crowd who were advancing towards them. Witnesses and hospital officials said many of the casualties were caused by gunshot wounds. The Israeli military said many of the casualties were caused by crowds fighting for food and people hit by aid trucks.
Plans for a sea route then took shape, with the United States and other countries joining Jordan and dropping aid to the north by plane.
But people in northern Gaza say air drops are insufficient to meet huge demand. Suwar Baroud, 24, who was displaced by the fighting and is now in Gaza City, said many people are unable to access aid as people fight over it. He says some people buy it up and sell it on the market.
A recent airdrop malfunctioned and caused the plane to plummet from the sky, killing five people.
Riham Abu Arbid, 27, said other water droplets fell into the sewer and garbage dump. The men rushed in, but were unable to recover anything.
“I hope that airdrops like this don't happen and that our dignity and freedom are taken into account and that we can get food in a dignified and not humiliating way,” she said.
The war could exacerbate tensions across the region and lead to broader violence.
The first Friday prayers of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan were held at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest site, without any large-scale protests or violence.
Mosques have been frequent flashpoints of violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the past. Hamas now hopes that a new eruption will increase pressure on Israel and give the militants more influence in ceasefire negotiations.
However, Israel has imposed restrictions on Palestinians in the West Bank entering their premises for Friday prayers, limiting them to men over 55, women over 50, and children under 10, giving everyone a special Required to obtain a permit. Palestinians without permits were unable to enter Jerusalem from the West Bank.
The site has long been a controversial religious space, as it stands on the Temple Mount, the holiest site for Jews.
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Associated Press writers Bassem Mourou in Beirut and Jack Jeffrey in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
