What Happened:
A ship with humanitarian aid is preparing to leave Cyprus and head to Gaza. International donors opened up a corridor by sea to supply Palestinians stuck in the besieged area with food and medicine. The opening of the corridor is followed by recent airdrops of aid into the area. Some nations are working to find pathways around Israeli restrictions.
EU President Ursula von der Leyen has been inspecting the ship owned by Spain’s Open Arms aid group before its voyage. The group’s journey through the corridor will be a pilot voyage to test the effectiveness of the corridor. The ship is holding food aid from World Central Kitchen, a U.S.-based charity.
The Details:
Calls for Israel to allow humanitarian aid through the siege zones have increased from western nations. The U.S. had begun airdropping food into some of the zones. Israel stated that it welcomes the corridor, but it would need frequent security checks. “The Cypriot initiative will allow the increase of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, after a security check according to Israeli standards,” Lior Haiat, spokesperson for Israel’s foreign ministry, said on X.
The multi-state effort involves the EU, the U.S., the United Arab Emirates, and a few others. Ursula von der Leyen claimed the initiative started because “the humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire, with innocent Palestinian families and children desperate for basic needs.” at a press conference on Friday.
The ship is expected to depart on Saturday, said Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides. The route the ship is taking raises some logistical problems, but U.N. aid agencies and the Red Cross will play a role in solving some of them. These efforts are incredibly expensive, and aid officials have said that they are far cheaper when done by truck instead of air or sea.
What’s Next:
President Biden used his State of the Union speech to call on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow more aid into Gaza. He also mentioned that the U.S. is building a floating port to help filter aid into the region.
Aid groups that have previously tried have claimed that their efforts have been seriously hampered by struggles to coordinate with the Israeli army. Meanwhile, Gaza’s Health Ministry says at least 30,878 Palestinians have died, with more likely to die unless aid is sent to the region.
Both parties are still engaged in talks about a ceasefire. Unnamed mediators are still pressing both sides to soften their approach.
