A ship carrying 200 tonnes of food departed from Cyprus bound for Gaza, traversing a newly established maritime corridor to provide assistance to a population teetering on the edge of famine.
Gaza, grappling with a dire shortage of humanitarian supplies due to Israeli restrictions amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, is in urgent need of aid.
The journey to Gaza could take up to two days for the Open Arms ship, as Gaza currently lacks a functional port.
While the U.S. is constructing a new dock, completion is expected to take several weeks.
United Nations officials have sounded the alarm, highlighting the famine-like conditions in Gaza, with reports of children succumbing to hunger-related illnesses.
The situation is dire, with acute malnutrition affecting many, including breastfeeding mothers who are too malnourished to feed their infants.
Despite efforts to deliver aid by sea, experts question whether it will be sufficient to address the growing hunger crisis, especially considering the decline in ground-based aid transfers due to Israeli inspections.
Urgent calls have been made to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza to prevent further suffering and to mitigate the impact of the conflict on the civilian population.
