From Cyprus, via Israel: How does maritime aid flow to Gaza work?

• Published date: 14 March 2024
• Author: YONAH JEREMY BOB
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

During the height of the peace process in the 1990s, Israel agreed to the Palestinians building both an airport and a seaport in Gaza

However, with the advent of the Second Intifada in October 2000, the IDF destroyed both ports, and they have not been rebuilt since.

How, then, does a very large ship with close to 200 tons of humanitarian aid physically deliver the aid?

In several weeks to a couple of months, the US will have established special artificial floating port platforms off the Gaza coast to receive and transfer aid.

But what happens now and until then with the WCK-UAE maritime aid effort, which is months ahead of the larger US effort later?

What happens until the aid reaches Gaza?

According to the IDF, after the aid is checked by Israel in Cyprus, as the large Dovrah/barge-style ship carrying the aid gets closer to the Gaza shore, it is partially pulled by smaller ships.

The Gaza waters near the beach are shallower than in some other Israeli beach areas, so the ship is able to get to around 400-500 meters from the coast, operating in a more normal fashion.

From there, it is pulled further and eventually anchored into the shallow sandwater area.

After that, the aid is unloaded onto the beach somewhere in the central Gaza region - but with the exact...