A day after Joe Biden revealed the United States’ plan to build a floating port off the coast of Gaza, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, hoped that the humanitarian corridor could be opened this weekend. from Cyprus to Gaza, carrying out a pilot test supported by the United Arab Emirates today.
According to sources close to the operation, the Open Arms organization will be the one to make the first trip from Larnaca to Gaza, with the help of World Central Kitchen (WCK), the NGO of chef José Andrés. The Open Arms ship has been off the coast of Cyprus for more than 20 days, loaded with food and medicine, trying to open a sea route. Meanwhile, WCK has been on Gazan soil since October, assisting 65 community kitchens and giving more than 350,000 meals a day.
Open Arms has not hesitated to call the situation experienced by the civilian population in Gaza “genocide.” The Spanish NGO’s efforts to establish a sea route come amid growing alarm over the spread of hunger among Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants. Hunger is most acute in northern Gaza, which has been isolated by Israeli forces for months and has suffered prolonged cuts in food supply deliveries.
After months of warnings about the risk of famine in Gaza under Israeli bombing, attacks and siege, hospital doctors have reported 20 malnutrition-related deaths in two hospitals in northern Gaza.
David Cameron has joined the United Kingdom with the United States and the EU in the creation of the humanitarian corridor. The British minister posted on X (formerly Twitter) that “together with the United States, the United Kingdom and other allies we have announced that we will open a sea corridor to bring aid directly to Gaza.” “We continue to urge Israel to allow more roads to Gaza as the quickest way to get aid to those who need it,” added the UK Foreign Minister.
During the Union speech, although Biden reiterated his support for Israel, he urged Netanyahu to allow more aid to Gaza. He has also called on Israel to do more to protect civilians in the fighting and work toward establishing the Palestinian state as the only solution to Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Aid groups have said their efforts to deliver desperately needed supplies to Gaza have been hampered due to difficulty coordinating with the Israeli military, ongoing hostilities and a lack of law and order.
