A vessel filled with humanitarian relief bound for Gaza is getting ready to depart from Cyprus, while international concerns escalate over the worsening situations in the territory. The first aid shipment to Gaza via a maritime corridor, expected to be functional by Sunday, is being organized by a US-based charity in Cyprus, according to the European Commission.
On Saturday, increased tension was noted in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, and final enclave yet to face ground warfare. Here, more than a million displaced Palestinians seek refuge. An Israeli attack caused significant damage to one of Rafah’s most substantial residential towers, with local inhabitants stating this further tightens the stranglehold.
Although there were no reported casualties from the strike on the 12-storey building, situated 500m from the Egypt border, it did render numerous families homeless. The Israeli military has yet to comment on the incident.
Palestinian activists said that the meeting between the Dutch monarch and the Israeli president feels like a slap in the face. One resident among the tower’s 300 occupants recalled receiving a half an hour warning from Israel to evacuate the building in the night. “The evacuation was chaotic, with people quite literally tripping over each other in their haste to escape. Numerous possessions and personal funds were left behind,” recounted Mohammad Al-Nabrees.
A Rafah official from the Fatah party, who exercise partial self-rule in the occupied West Bank, another Palestinian territory, expressed concern that the tower strike could presage an imminent Israeli invasion.
Nearly five months into Israel’s unremitting air and ground attacks on Gaza, health officials reported nearly 31,000 Palestinian deaths and over 72,500 injuries, with many still trapped under debris.
The offensive has precipitated a humanitarian disaster in the blockaded territory of Palestine. An Israel-led embargo that has been in place for 17 years has devastated the area, with countless buildings razed, and causing displacement of most of the 2.3 million inhabitants. This has led to the UN prophesying a potential outbreak of disease and starvation.
Overnight, three Palestinian children perished in the northern Al Shifa hospital due to dehydration and malnutrition, declared Ashraf Al-Qidra, a spokesperson for Gaza’s health ministry. With these tragic occurrences, the total count of Palestinians who have died from similar causes in the last ten days has increased to 23, Qidra added.
Despite numerous global pleas for a ceasefire, the Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, indicated last week that an assault on Rafah is set to proceed, facing even moderate opposition from the United States, Israel’s strongest supporter. Rafah performs a vital role in the delivery of aid, and any conflict in this area would impact the limited aid currently being delivered to Gaza, while also posing a significant threat to civilians.
The impact a proposed sea passageway would have on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza remains uncertain. A Spanish vessel, ‘Open Arms’, docked in Larnaca, Cyprus, the nearest European Union nation, three weeks ago. According to the charity, World Central Kitchen teams are in Cyprus loading aid onto a boat bound for northern Gaza.
Plans were revealed, in partnership with ‘Open Arms’, to open a maritime aid passageway that would increase aid efforts in the region. The charity intends to haul a barge packed with provisions to Gaza, where the humanitarian status has worsened after five months of conflict between Israel and Hamas, resulting in countries dropping food and other aids. Open Arms stated that their tugboat stands ready for immediate departure, loaded with supplies for Palestinian civilians.
The European Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, expressed in Larnaca her aspiration for the maritime route to be operational by the forthcoming Sunday. She also announced that a ‘test measure’ would commence on Friday, sponsored by the United Arab Emirates, which paved the way for the first batch of goods to reach the people of Gaza.
Considering that Gaza has no functioning ports, officials did not specify the initial shipments’ destination, inspection by Israel, or aid distribution. The Pentagon announced that a US initiative to erect a “temporary offshore maritime pier” in Gaza would take around 60 days and may require more than 1,000 US personnel. The disclosure of the planned maritime route was welcomed by Israel, which, despite pulling out of Gaza in 2005, has retained control over its territorial waters and airspace.