How is aid getting into Gaza right now?
As an occupied territory, the Gaza Strip has long been dependent on other nations for much of its basic needs. The past five months of war between Israeli forces and Hamas militants have pushed the already-beleaguered enclave into an even more extreme state of crisis. Late last year, the United Nations estimated that one in four Palestinians in the territory were starving, with the risk of a major famine "increasing every day." Since then the situation has only deteriorated further, as Israel continues to bombard the densely packed strip while at the same time throttling the amount of aid it allows through into the blockaded region. The number of trucks carrying food, concrete, and other supplies into Gaza has dropped by 75% from pre-war levels, per a United Nations tally.
As the humanitarian crisis worsens, a major international effort to increase the amount of aid delivered to Palestinians stuck in the territory is underway. In his State of the Union address last week, President Joe Biden announced that the United States would construct a pier off the Gaza coast to facilitate maritime delivery of assistance. On Friday the "first nautical delivery for hungry Palestinians" arrived from Cyprus — even as "tons of food and supplies sit on idling trucks in Egypt" awaiting to be allowed in, NBC News said.
What did the commentators say?
Delivery by truck is "by far the most important" way to bring aid into Gaza, largely through the Rafah crossing that borders Egypt, as well as the Kerem Shalom access point — a target for Israeli protesters who argue "Gaza should receive no aid while armed groups still hold captives taken on Oct. 7," The New York Times said. This week a convoy of six UN World Food Program trucks also delivered food directly into northern Gaza along what the Times Of Israel described as a "new military road" which has previously been used to "carry out operations in northern and central Gaza." The route, and the aid — airlifted from Morocco to Israel's Ben Gurion airport outside Tel Aviv — is part of an "experimental pilot in order to prevent Hamas from taking over the aid," Israeli officials told the outlet.
Bringing the aid into Gaza by road is only one part of the logistical challenge of delivering food and material to Palestinians. Not only is the aid strenuously checked by Israel before crossing the border to ensure it cannot be used militarily, but once inside Gaza the supplies are offloaded, "collected by humanitarian agencies, sorted, and then distributed," Al Jazeera said. Moreover, that distribution is often hampered by the ongoing military operations taking place, as well as allegations made to the Associated Press that Israel "often denies [aid group] requests to access northern Gaza" from Rafah in the south, and "even when it is granted, little protection is provided."
In light of those challenges, some nations have resorted to distributing aid by air, which enables the delivery of parcels to areas largely unreachable via Rafah. However, the process is "costly and ineffective as a means of delivering large quantities of supplies" and "risky for civilians on the ground" the New York Times said.
What next?
As aid groups work to increase the amount of resources delivered by road, many countries have begun focusing on the Mediterranean Sea as a means of delivery, with the European Union, United Arab Emirates, and the U.S. all hoping an American-military-built pier off the Gaza coast can help facilitate nautical shipments. The ship that arrived Friday marks the first time a ship had been "authorized to deliver aid directly to Gaza since 2005," PBS Newshour said, adding that Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos claims the plan is for "more systematic exercise with increased volumes" in the future.
There is already "food waiting at the port in Cyprus for an immediate second trip if the first goes well," Spanish humanitarian NGO Proactiva Open Arms, which organized the maritime delivery in concert with chef José Andrés' World Central Kitchen, said to NPR.
