Spanish aid ship en route to Palestine
A Spanish aid boat was en route to Gaza yesterday, opening a new maritime corridor intended to allow deliveries of desperately needed food to the Palestinian territory ravaged by months of war .
In a sign of worsening conditions, the territory’s Health Ministry says 27 people have died of malnutrition and dehydration, most of them children.
A weeks-long diplomatic push had sought to bring about a ceasefire and increase aid deliveries before the start of Ramadan, but key mediator Qatar said on Tuesday that the warring sides were not close to striking a deal.
Fresh bombardments could be heard in southern Gaza early yesterday, and the Health Ministry reported another 70 people killed in overnight strikes.
With land shipments into the territory severely curtailed, the international community has sought to diversify routes for delivering aid, including via air drops and the new Cyprus maritime corridor.
The Open Arms ship that left
Larnaca on Tuesday is towing 200 tonnes of relief goods 400km across the Mediterranean to Gaza, with US charity World Central Kitchen saying work was “underway” on a jetty to unload the shipment.
Cyprus said a second vessel was also being prepared.
Gaza has experienced dire shortages of food and essentials since Israel imposed a siege at the outset of the war, and prices have shot up for what food there is.
“Today, there are many things in the market that are not available; even if they are available, they are at astronomical prices,” said dentist and Gaza City resident Baher Hassouna, one of the 1.5 million Gazans displaced to the southern border city of Rafah.
Four US Army vessels also departed a base in Virginia on Tuesday carrying about 100 soldiers and equipment needed to build a temporary port on Gaza’s coast.
The new facility – which will consist of an offshore platform and a pier to bring aid ashore – is expected to be up and running “at the 60-day mark”, said US Army BrigGen Brad Hinson. – AFP