Following President Biden’s announcement of maritime aid delivery to the Gaza Strip, European leaders have now pledged to deliver aid by ship as early as this weekend. However, aid groups and Gaza officials have criticized both air and sea shipments as being too cumbersome, calling for a larger supply of food and medicine to be delivered by trucks.
The challenges of providing aid to the starving residents of Gaza were highlighted on Friday when authorities reported that at least five Palestinians were killed and several others wounded after being struck by packages of humanitarian aid dropped from an aircraft.
With hundreds of thousands of Gazans on the brink of starvation due to five months of war and an Israeli blockade, there is an urgent need to expedite the delivery of essential supplies. However, Israel’s insistence on inspecting all incoming aid has slowed the process, with only two border crossings allowing aid trucks to enter Gaza.
President Biden’s proposed plan to build a floating pier on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to provide food, water, and medicine to civilians is expected to take 30 to 60 days to complete, raising concerns about how famine in Gaza will be prevented in the meantime.
While the U.S., Britain, the European Union, and the United Arab Emirates have all pledged to join the maritime aid effort, concerns remain about the distribution of aid amid ongoing Israeli attacks. The lack of a functioning port in Gaza further complicates the situation, with coastal waters too shallow for most vessels to dock.
As plans for the sea route progress, humanitarian groups are urging Israel to fully open the port of Ashdod to receive maritime shipments of aid. The need for additional land routes into Gaza, particularly in the north where shortages are most acute, is also emphasized.
Efforts led by renowned chef José Andrés to deliver aid to Gaza have been met with challenges, including an incident last week where Palestinians were killed during an aid convoy. The Israeli military has defended its actions, stating that soldiers fired in self-defense when approached by Gazans.
The death of Palestinians in a recent airdrop of aid packages has further underscored the need for more effective aid delivery methods. Calls for Israel to open additional overland crossings and allow the free flow of supplies continue to grow as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens.