Breaking the Gaza aid bottleneck: 106-tonne delivery arrives via new sea route

The first shipment via a mechanism to deliver aid by sea, in line with a UN Security Council resolution and amid the ongoing war in the Middle East. 

The consignment through the WHO Humanitarian Bridge Initiative in Cyprus arrived at Ashdod port in Israel and is being prepared for onward distribution to the devastated enclave. 

“This shipment marks a significant operational milestone in strengthening WHO’s interregional humanitarian logistics capacity for a region affected by the ongoing conflict, particularly in Gaza,” the UN agency said. 

Scaling up delivery 

The Humanitarian Bridge Initiative is a coordinated effort between WHO offices in Cyprus and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. 

It is designed to enable the timely, scalable and efficient delivery of essential health commodities to the Gaza Strip by sea under the framework of Security Council resolution 2720 (2023), which called for establishing a UN mechanism to step up aid provision through countries that were not party to the conflict there. 

The Cypriot Government is taking the lead alongside the UN 2720 mechanism team implemented by the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS).  

Together, they provide a neutral, transparent and internationally coordinated maritime corridor for humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza. 

Saving time, reducing bottlenecks 

“The mechanism further reinforces Cyprus’s role as a strategic humanitarian logistics staging point, leveraging its geographic proximity, approximately 370 kilometers from Gaza, and its position within the European Union single market to facilitate the rapid mobilization and dispatch of critical supplies,” WHO said. 

Moreover, “by complementing existing humanitarian corridors for Gaza and diversifying supply routes, the initiative has the potential to significantly reduce delivery timelines and mitigate operational bottlenecks that have constrained humanitarian access in the past.”  

Looking ahead, WHO said the bridge initiative will continue to support strategic prepositioning, consolidation and the rapid dispatch of essential supplies, thus strengthening the agency’s operational readiness for Gaza as well as health emergencies and disasters across the whole region. 

UN support continues 

The development comes as the UN and partners continue to deliver critical assistance to Gaza even as the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem border crossing with Israel remains the only one open for cargo. 

On Tuesday, they brought in over 270,000 litres of fuel to keep critical humanitarian services running, UN Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told journalists at Headquarters in New York. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) also collected animal fodder while UN child rights agency UNICEF retrieved more than 240 pallets of supplies including nutrition, medicines and kits containing personal care items such as sanitary pads, toothpaste and body wash.   

Reviving crop production 

FAO has announced a scale-up of its cash assistance to reactivate local crop production for an additional 1,000 Gazan farmers.   

“The assistance builds on a successful pilot from last year, when 200 farmers managed to grow more than 500 metric tonnes of fresh vegetables, with support received through the Humanitarian Fund for the occupied Palestinian territory,” said Mr. Dujarric. 

The UN agency estimates that farmers will be able to produce some 5,000 metric tonnes of vegetables – enough to feed roughly 95,000 people for a whole year – which will help address food insecurity in Gaza while promoting employment and income generation.