Aid ship carrying nearly 200 tonnes of food finally sets sail for Gaza

The aid ship carrying almost 200 tonnes of food for Gaza finally left Cyprus on Tuesday after a delay – as Palestinians in the densely-populated territory are on the brink of famine.

Hopes of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan have faded, and severe challenges remain on getting humanitarian aid into the war zone.

The charity ship Open Arms was seen sailing out of Larnaca port in Cyprus, towing a barge containing flour, rice and protein.

The journey spans more than 200 miles and could take the heavy ship up to two days to complete.

The UN estimates that 25% of the population of Gaza is at risk of starvation and has accused Israel of blocking aid to the territory.

An Israeli government spokesperson previously insisted to Sky News there were “no limits on the amount of aid that can go into Gaza”.

The conflict has displaced most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, with many cramped into makeshift tents with little in the way of food or basic medical supplies in the southern city of Rafah.

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Gaza’s authorities say more than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in the weeks of fighting since the deadly 7 October attacks, which killed 1,200 people in Israel.

The US military said one of its vessels was also en route to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea.

International affairs editor

There is a desperate need for more aid in Gaza, whatever the claims being made by Israel that more than enough is getting in.

UNICEF says children have started dying of starvation in Gaza. It is always the very young and old who die first in the kind of famines that British foreign secretary David Cameron has warned Gaza is tipping into.

According to the World Health Organisation, 93% of Gazans are facing crisis levels of hunger.

There is a simple way of stopping that happening and avoiding more needless deaths of civilians through starvation. It does not involve boats or aid drops or piers being sent from across the ocean.

Those efforts are inadequate and token and will take too long to save lives.

Chef Jose Andres whose charity is behind the aid shipment being sent on board the Open Arms vessel sailing to Gaza put it well: ‘Let’s open more places around Palestine that can access with trucks’.

There are two ports just north of Gaza, Ashdod and Ashkelon. They could be used to funnel aid into northern Gaza where food is most needed. And there is a crossing through which it could be sent.

The Erez crossing was damaged by Hamas but the Israeli agency responsible for crossings told Sky News it could be opened for aid, if the order was given by the Israeli government.

It has not done so.

Under international law occupiers must guarantee the humanitarian needs of the people whose land they are occupying. Israel has yet to live up to those obligations.

Allies have said a lot about Israel needing to do so, but so far have not applied the necessary diplomatic pressure to force it to do so. As things stand that joint failure is likely to lead directly to many more innocents starving to death in Gaza.

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