Final preparations are under way to send the first shipment of aid by sea to gaza. Humanitarian organisations are co ordinating a delivery of about 200 tonnes of food and medical supplies, which will go via a Maritime Corridor with israels agreement. But its unclear how or where the boat will actually dock, and even if the aid does arrive, some groups are warning of problems in distributing the aid across gaza. Wyre davies reports from jerusalem. In the cypriot port of larnaca, they have been working around the clock. The spanish ship, open arms, is preparing to tow a barge with 200 tonnes of food and medical aid all the way to gaza. Its a precarious, untested plan with obvious risks. Translation yes, we will tow this platform to gaza, where The Last Mile will be the most complicated operation. The disembarkation will be done on a pier that is being built right now by the world central kitchen. How the aid will be unloaded into gaza, where there is no port orfunctioning harbour, is not
But, without a working port, its not clear yet where the ship will actually dock or how its cargo will be distributed inside gaza. 0ur middle east correspondent Quentin Sommerville is in the Port City Of Larnaca in cyprus and sent us this report. Its a drop in the ocean of gazas need, but this is the first direct aid shipment by sea about to leave cyprus. The spanish ship the open arms, seen here in larnaca port, getting ready to set sail. It has a long journey ahead of it. The barge has 200 tonnes of desperately needed essentials rice, flour and pre prepared meals. This has taken months in planning. The cargo was loaded all weekend. The final Security Clearances from israel came through in the last few hours. Well, weve done truckloads of food through the rafah crossing. Weve done airdrops with thejordanian army. This is the next step into providing food aid into gaza. But this is only a small breakthrough. Israels offensive has led to a collapse in civil order. Few Aid Organisations
Welcome to bbc news broadcasting to viewers in the uk and Around The World. We begin in cyprus, where a Spanish Charity ship carrying vital supplies is preparing to set sailfor gaza along a new maritime aid corridor. Its been loaded with around 200 tonnes of food and medical supplies. But, without a working port, its not clear yet where the ship will actually dock or how its cargo will be distributed inside gaza. 0ur middle east correspondent Quentin Somerville is in the Port City Of Larnaca in cyprus and sent us this report. Its a drop in the ocean of gazas need, but this is the first direct aid shipment by sea about to leave cyprus. The spanish ship The Open Arms, seen here in larnaca port, getting ready to set sail. It has a long journey ahead of it. The barge has 200 tonnes of desperately needed essentials rice, flour and pre prepared meals. This has taken months in planning. The cargo was loaded all weekend. The final Security Clearances from israel came through in the last few ho
Wyre davies reports from jerusalem. In the cypriot port of larnaca, they have been working around the clock. The spanish ship open arms preparing to tow a barge with 200 tonnes of food and medical aid all the way to gaza. Its a precarious, untested plan with obvious risks. Translation yes, we will tow this platform to gaza, where The Last Mile will be the most complicated operation. The disembarkation will be done on a pier that is being built right now by the world central kitchen. How the aid will be unloaded into gaza, where there is no port orfunctioning harbour, is not clear. Air drops and some Land Deliveries are often swamped by thousands of desperate, hungry people. Some aid agencies say that the plan is misguided and ineffective. The humanitarian crisis is worsening by the day. The un says there is a danger of famine, and children are already reported to be dying from malnutrition. All of this is happening because israel and hamas have been unable to agree a ceasefire that wou