Operation Safeena: Aid shipped by sea reaches northern Gaza
World Central Kitchen provided almost 200 tons of food to communities in northern Gaza that arrived in our first maritime aid shipment. The food that reached families facing starvation arrived aboard the first humanitarian shipment to reach the Gazan coast in nearly two decades. Alongside local and international partners, WCK has provided more than 39 million meals by land, sea, and air to Palestinians in need.
Today’s delivery of rice, flour, legumes, vegetables, and proteins to families in the north, where access to aid is highly restricted, proves desperately needed food can be delivered by sea. In addition to the food that arrived on the Open Arms boat, today’s convoy to the north also carried ready-to-eat meals.
For months, our teams across the region have worked nonstop to open this maritime aid route into Gaza. We are sourcing and loading food onto boats in Cyprus and built our own jetty in Gaza using rubble, including from bombed buildings, to safely unload cargo.
WCK will eventually be able to provide “huge quantities of food daily into the shores of Gaza,” said José Andrés, WCK’s founder. Our teams are currently preparing to dispatch our second maritime shipment that will include food and heavy machinery that will expedite the offloading process.
Still, much more needs to be done. José has called for a ceasefire and opening of as many land crossings as possible as the best ways to ensure Palestinians get the meals and water they need. To date, we have dispatched more than 1,500 trucks and know that many more are needed to meet the urgent needs of communities all across Gaza.
This remains a quickly evolving situation. You can subscribe to our newsletter to receive more information and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for real time updates.
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