Open Arms—the aid ship carrying 200 tons of aid from Cyprus—approached the coast of Gaza on Friday, March 15, to bring assistance and alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the strip five months into the Israel-Hamas War.
The ship, manned by the Spanish aid group Proactiva Open Arms, left Cyprus on Tuesday (Mar. 12) and has been towing a barge filled with food sent by World Central Kitchen, the charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés.
The Associated Press reported that by Friday morning local time, the ship was visible off the coast of Gaza.
Israel has been pressured to allow more aid to Gaza as the war continues in the Palestinian enclave. Of late, the United States has joined other countries in airdropping supplies in northern Gaza and has announced separate plans to construct a pier to get aid in.
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More Aid on the Way
However, aid groups said that airdrops and sea shipments were far less efficient in delivering the massive amounts of aid needed in Gaza.
Instead, they suggested that Israel should guarantee safe corridors for truck convoys after land deliveries became nearly impossible because of military restrictions, protests by hostage families, ongoing hostilities, and the breakdown of order after the Hamas-run police force largely vanished from the streets.
Earlier this week, Israel allowed six aid trucks to enter northern Gaza directly, which was a step aid groups were calling for.
World Central Kitchen spokesperson Linda Roth said that since the war began, the organization has served 32 million meals in its 65 kitchens in Gaza. The aid included rice, flour, lentils, beans, tuna, and canned meat.
The group planned to distribute the food in the north of the strip, which was hugely devastated in the early months of the war.
Meanwhile, Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said that a second vessel loaded with more aid would sail to Gaza once the supplies from the first ship had been offloaded and distributed.
However, he did not specify the departure date, saying that it would depend, in part, on whether the Open Arms delivery went smoothly.
