Food Aid for Gazans Was Sent Back to Cyprus
World Central Kitchen, the charity group that paused its operations in Gaza this week after seven of its workers were killed in an Israeli strike, sent three ships with hundreds of tons of food meant for Gazans back to port in Cyprus. It was the most tangible sign yet that the attack, which Israel called a mistake, has set back efforts to address severe hunger that experts say is approaching famine.
At least one other aid group also announced it was suspending its operations in the enclave, and the U.N.’s World Food Program stopped its overnight work while it evaluated security.
The halting of the maritime aid organized by World Central Kitchen will probably be felt most in northern Gaza, where food shortages are most dire. The ships were intended to supplement the roughly 117 aid trucks that enter Gaza each day — a tally that is less than half what the U.N. estimates is needed to meet basic food needs.
Before the strike, the World Central Kitchen team had spent the day getting 100 tons of supplies off the group’s ship at a rudimentary jetty, which had been built in six days from the rubble of bombed buildings, and to their warehouse. Here is an account of the strike and its aftermath.
In a Guest Essay for Opinion, José Andrés, the wealthy and well-connected chef who founded World Central Kitchen, criticized the Israeli government and called for it to quickly allow more food and supplies to reach starving Gazans.
In related news, one of the strongest voices inside the White House urging an end to the war in Gaza is the person closest to the president: Jill Biden.