Could a ‘maritime highway of boats and barges’ end Gaza’s siege?

Analysis Could a ‘maritime highway of boats and barges’ end Gaza’s siege?
Open Arms vessel with the humanitarian food aid at the Cypriot port of Larnaca. (AFP)
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Updated 18 March 2024
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Could a ‘maritime highway of boats and barges’ end Gaza’s siege?

Could a ‘maritime highway of boats and barges’ end Gaza’s siege?
  • Arrival of first vessel with meals highlights efforts to overcome hurdles to sending aid by road
  • Some experts say provisions dropped onto the enclave are just as valuable as those coming by land or sea

LONDON: Although Israel has permitted dozens of aid trucks to enter the Gaza Strip in recent days, humanitarian agencies warn that not nearly enough assistance is reaching the embattled enclave.

There was a glimmer of hope on Thursday, however, when the first international relief vessel arrived off Gaza’s northern coast.

The Spanish-flagged Open Arms left Cyprus on March 12, towing some 200 tons of flour, protein and rice and a ready-to-use pontoon, which allowed it to offload its cargo in the absence of any formal port infrastructure.

The shipment — largely funded by the UAE — was organized by US charity World Central Kitchen (WCK), which said it had a further 500 tons of aid ready to dispatch.




Entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza by road in trucks has slowed due to Israeli feet-dragging, lawlessness, and deadly stampedes. (AFP)

In a statement, WCK founder Jose Andres and its chief executive Erin Gore, said: “Our goal is to establish a maritime highway of boats and barges that are stocked with millions of meals continuously headed towards Gaza.”

In a separate statement on X, Andres noted that WCK was also constructing its own jetty where vessels could land in the future.

With 200 tons equaling 12 truckloads, the Open Arms’ delivery represents just a fraction of the roughly 500 aid trucks that had been entering Gaza daily before the Israel-Hamas conflict began on Oct. 7.

According to Israeli authorities, 89 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were inspected and transferred to the Gaza Strip on March 13. On that same day, aid from 145 trucks was distributed inside Gaza, while a convoy of 21 trucks made its way to northern Gaza, where aid organizations have warned there is a high risk of famine.

Over the last three weeks, the Israelis say, more than 150 trucks have been transferred to the north, and four tankers of cooking gas designated for the operation of essential infrastructure in Gaza have also entered the enclave.

However, the number of trucks entering is still well short of the 300 that charities believe are needed daily to stave off the looming famine.

Unlike recent US airdrops, which have been criticized by some as being a dangerous and ineffective means of delivering aid, the prospective maritime corridor has received a warmer reception.

Julia Roknifard, an assistant professor at the University of Nottingham’s School of Politics, History, and International Relations, said that, unlike the airdrops, the Open Arms’ mission cannot be dismissed as political maneuvering.

“This push for the charity to deliver aid is coming from civil society as well, so it can’t be seen as a PR stunt alone,” Roknifard told Arab News.




With 200 tons equaling 12 truckloads, the Open Arms’ delivery represents just a fraction of the roughly 500 aid trucks that had been entering Gaza daily before the Israel-Hamas conflict began on Oct. 7. (AFP)

Importantly, she added, US backing for the mission will likely deter the Israel Defense Forces from risking a repeat of the 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla incident in which IDF commandos tried to board the Mavi Marmara aid ship and killed nine activists in the process.

WCK had sought to allay Israeli government concerns ahead of its mission. Its communications director, Laura Lanuza, told National Public Radio in the US that the charity had to hash out a deal with the Israelis to ensure the IDF would not try to block the delivery of aid from Open Arms.

Even once an agreement was reached, Lanuza said it took the charity about three weeks to ensure the ship and its cargo complied with the agreed regulations and restrictions.

“We had a huge challenge in front of us trying to make this happen. We had to be cautious, and we had to follow all the protocols that we did in order to have a good end to this,” Lanuza added, noting that each crate was individually scanned under Israeli supervision.

Commenting on joint EU-UAE-US plans to develop the maritime corridor, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Open Arms was the first vessel to have been authorized by the Israelis to deliver aid directly to Gaza in almost 20 years.

INNUMBERS

• 200 Tons of flour, protein and rice delivered by Open Arms.

• 500 Tons of aid ready to be dispatched to Gaza.

• 500 Aid trucks were entering Gaza daily Oct. 7.

In a joint statement, the EU, UAE, and US said, “Delivery of aid to Gaza by sea will be complex. We’ll continue to assess and adjust efforts to ensure we deliver aid as effectively as possible.”

It added: “This maritime corridor can — and must — be part of a sustained effort to increase the flow of humanitarian aid and commercial commodities into Gaza through all possible routes.” The statement also called on the international community to “do more.”

Sharing Roknifard’s hopes for the maritime corridor is Yossi Mekelberg, associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House in London and a strident critic of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Mekelberg told Arab News that “of course” there was an element of PR in US plans to “go and build a floating dock,” but he stressed that this did not necessarily nullify the benefits that could come from its construction.




The shipment — largely funded by the UAE — was organized by US charity World Central Kitchen. (AFP)

“Essentially, what sort of change it can offer is dependent on a few factors — namely, how big it is and how much aid it can actually get into Gaza,” he said. “Right now, every little helps, on top of what is already getting in, for as long as those 500 truckloads of aid that are needed to keep Gaza running are not getting in.”

Mekelberg added that provisions being parachuted in are just as valuable as those coming by land or sea.

However, he continued, if the proposed floating dock is to make a real difference, then time is of the essence. He cited estimates that the dock could take two months to build, despite warnings from aid agencies that some 576,000 people are already on the brink of famine.

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, founder of Project Unified Assistance, which aims to establish a UN-operated humanitarian airport in Gaza, wrote on X that the temporary dock was a “mammoth step” that could have a “transformative impact if implemented effectively.”

“It’s also historic because it will be the first time in a contemporary context that Gaza will have a functioning seaport which can receive regular, large-scale cargo shipments,” he said.

“After the food airdrops, US involvement in establishing a maritime corridor will bolster Washington’s diplomatic posture and signal the Biden administration’s seriousness about ending the humanitarian catastrophe that Gaza’s civilian population is experiencing.”

Support for the maritime corridor, though, has not been universal. Medecins Sans Frontieres slammed the plans as a “glaring distraction,” and urged the US to instead force Israel’s hand to allow more trucks to enter the enclave.

Avril Benoit, the organization’s executive director, said the US had to address the “real problem,” namely what he described as “Israel’s indiscriminate and disproportionate military campaign and punishing siege.”

In a statement, Benoit added: “The food, water, and medical supplies so desperately needed by people in Gaza are sitting just across the border.




According to Israeli authorities, 89 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were inspected and transferred to the Gaza Strip on March 13. (AFP)

“Israel needs to facilitate rather than block the flow of supplies. This isn’t a logistics problem; it is a political problem. Rather than look to a workaround, the US should insist on immediate humanitarian access using roads and entry points that already exist.”

Israel denies it is restricting the entry of aid and has instead shifted the blame to humanitarian organizations operating inside Gaza, claiming that hundreds of trucks filled with aid are sitting idle on the Palestinian side of the main crossing.

The UN says it cannot always reach the trucks at the crossing because, at times, it can be too dangerous.

So, short of increasing the number of trucks entering Gaza and guaranteeing the safe delivery of the aid they carry, many view the maritime option as the best alternative.

“Looking at the big picture for the US government, being a patron for such an act is, of course, better than nothing, but overall (it is) pathetic compared to the actual pressure that could be rendered on Israel to stop the attacks,” said Roknifard.




The Spanish-flagged Open Arms left Cyprus on March 12. (AFP)

Roknifard believes the US should use its leverage to “twist Israel’s arm” and force Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition partners to allow sufficient aid to arrive by road.

Such a move is unlikely, however, given the upcoming US presidential election, which Roknifard said presents a “major roadblock” to the necessary “political will.”

Although this still seems “like a pretty lame excuse for not doing the real thing,” Roknifard said the maritime corridor was at least better than dropping aid from the air.

 


Gaza rescuers say 14 killed in Israeli strikes

Gaza rescuers say 14 killed in Israeli strikes
Updated 8 sec ago
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Gaza rescuers say 14 killed in Israeli strikes

Gaza rescuers say 14 killed in Israeli strikes

GAZA STRIP: Gaza’s civil defense agency said on Saturday that Israeli air strikes killed at least 14 Palestinians overnight, including women and children, while the Israeli military said it had eliminated dozens of militants in the territory’s north.
An air strike hit tents housing displaced Palestinians in the southern area of Khan Yunis, killing at least nine people, including children and women, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
The Palestinian Red Crescent also confirmed the toll, saying 11 others were wounded in the strike and were taken to Nasser Hospital.
A second air strike killed five people, including children, and injured about 22 when “Israeli warplanes hit Fahad Al-Sabah school,” which had been turned into a shelter for “thousands of displaced people” in the Al-Tuffah district of Gaza City, Bassal said.
The dead and injured were taken to Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, he added.
In recent months, the military has struck several schools-turned-shelters where Israel has said Palestinian militants are operating.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said its troops killed “dozens of terrorists” in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza, where it has been conducting a sweeping air and ground operation for more than a month to prevent Hamas from regrouping.
Israeli forces also killed several militants in the area of Rafah in the territory’s south, the military added.
The military is currently engaged in a two-front war, with troops fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
“Over the past day, the IAF (air force) struck over 50 terror targets in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip,” the military said in a statement.
“Among the targets struck were military structures, weapons storage facilities and launchers,” it added.
Israel’s war in Gaza broke out after Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7 last year, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people on Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures, which included those who died and were killed in captivity.
During the attack, militants abducted 251 people, 97 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 43,508 people, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers to be reliable.


South Sudan floods affect 1.4 million, displace 379,000: UN

South Sudan floods affect 1.4 million, displace 379,000: UN
Updated 2 min 19 sec ago
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South Sudan floods affect 1.4 million, displace 379,000: UN

South Sudan floods affect 1.4 million, displace 379,000: UN
  • The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said about 1.4 million people were affected by floods in 43 counties

Nairobi: Devastating flooding in South Sudan is affecting around 1.4 million people, with more than 379,000 displaced, according to a United Nations update that warned about an upsurge in malaria.
Aid agencies have said that the world’s youngest country, highly vulnerable to climate change, is in the grip of its worst flooding in decades, mainly in the north.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said about 1.4 million people were affected by floods in 43 counties and the disputed Abyei region, which is claimed by both South Sudan and Sudan.
“Over 379,000 individuals are displaced in 22 counties and Abyei,” it added in a statement issued late on Friday.
A surge in malaria has been reported in several states, it said, “overwhelming the health system and exacerbating the situation and impact in flood-hit areas.”
Since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, the world’s youngest nation has remained plagued by chronic instability, violence and economic stagnation as well as climate disasters such as drought and floods.

The World Bank said last month that the latest floods were “worsening an already critical humanitarian situation marked by severe food insecurity, economic decline, continued conflict, disease outbreaks, and the repercussions of the Sudan conflict,” which has seen several hundred thousand people pour into South Sudan.
More than seven million people are food insecure in South Sudan and 1.65 million children are malnourished, according to the UN’s World Food Programme.
The country also faces another period of political paralysis after the president’s office announced in September yet another extension to a transitional period agreed in a 2018 peace deal, delaying elections by two years to December 2026.
Key provisions of the transitional agreement remain unfulfilled — including the creation of a constitution and the unification of the rival forces of President Salva Kiir and his foe Reik Machar.
The delay has left South Sudan’s partners and the United Nations exasperated, with UN envoy Nicholas Haysom on Thursday describing it as a “regrettable development.”
All local and international parties involved “must collectively seize the opportunity to make this extension the last, and deliver the peace and democracy that the people of South Sudan deserve,” added Haysom.
South Sudan boasts plentiful oil resources but the vital source of revenue was decimated in February when an export pipeline was damaged in neighboring war-torn Sudan.


Iraqi PM urges Trump to ‘work toward ending’ Mideast wars

Iraqi PM urges Trump to ‘work toward ending’ Mideast wars
Updated 49 min 27 sec ago
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Iraqi PM urges Trump to ‘work toward ending’ Mideast wars

Iraqi PM urges Trump to ‘work toward ending’ Mideast wars
  • About 2,500 American troops are deployed in Iraq as part of a US-led coalition that was formed to help battle the Daesh group.

Baghdad: Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani expressed hopes during a phone call with US President-elect Donald Trump that he would keep his “promises to work toward ending wars” in the Middle East.
Amid Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon, Sudani — who was named premier by a majority bloc of Iran-backed political factions — has been in a delicate balancing act to ensure his country is not drawn into the fighting.
In the phone call, the Iraqi premier pointed to Trump’s “campaign statements and promises to work toward ending wars in the region,” a statement from Sudani’s office said late Friday.
“The two sides agreed to coordinate efforts in achieving this goal,” it added.
About 2,500 American troops are deployed in Iraq as part of a US-led coalition that was formed to help battle the Daesh group.
Bases hosting the American troops have been the target of dozens of rocket and drone attacks launched by Iran-backed groups in Iraq, which have also claimed attacks against Israel.
Baghdad has for years called on Washington to provide a clear timeline for the withdrawal of their remaining coalition troops.
The US and Iraq announced in late September that the international coalition would end its decade-long military mission in federal Iraq within a year, and by September 2026 in the autonomous Kurdistan region.
But the joint statement and US officials did not say whether any American troops would remain in Iraq.
Under Trump’s first term in office, relations deteriorated between the two countries after a US drone strike in January 2020 killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani — the chief of the Quds Force and the architect of the Islamic republic’s military operations abroad.
Also killed in that strike was Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, the deputy head of Iraq’s former paramilitary Hashed Al-Shaabi that have been integrated into the armed forces.
As part of their investigations into Muhandis’s assassination, the Iraqi judiciary issued a warrant for Trump’s arrest in January 2021.


Israel must comply with ICJ measures to prevent genocide — UN human rights chief

Israel must comply with ICJ measures to prevent genocide — UN human rights chief
Updated 55 min 41 sec ago
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Israel must comply with ICJ measures to prevent genocide — UN human rights chief

Israel must comply with ICJ measures to prevent genocide — UN human rights chief
  • Volker Turk’s office publishes report covering violations between November 2023, April 2024
  • UN Human Rights Office: Almost 70% of fatalities in Gaza are children, women

NEW YORK: The UN high commissioner for human rights on Friday called on Israel to “fully and immediately” comply with the provisional measures issued in January by the International Court of Justice demanding action to prevent a genocide from being perpetrated against the Palestinians.

Volker Turk also called on states to honor their obligations under international law and “assess arms sales or transfers and provision of military, logistical or financial support to a party to the conflict, with a view to ending such support if this risks serious violations of international law.”

His warning comes as a new report by his office, published on Friday, warned that “if committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, (Israel’s violations) may constitute genocide.”

In January, after considering an original case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide, the ICJ issued a ruling that included provisional measures ordering Israel to take action to prevent and punish the commission of, or the incitement to commit, genocide; to halt the indiscriminate killing of Palestinians; and to immediately facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.

Turk said Israel’s compliance with the ICJ ruling is now “even more critical and urgent” in light of the new report, which details “the horrific reality that has unfolded for the people of Israel and Gaza since 7 October 2023,” and concludes by demanding justice with respect to the grave violations of international law that have been committed.

The ICJ measures are also more pertinent than ever given the most recent events, Turk said, including Israel’s operations in northern Gaza and its adoption of legislation banning the main UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees from operating in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem.

“It is essential that there is due reckoning with respect to the allegations of serious violations of international law through credible and impartial judicial bodies and that, in the meantime, all relevant information and evidence are collected and preserved,” said Turk.

The new report covers violations that occurred from November 2023 to April 2024, including the killing of civilians and breaches of international law that it said could amount to war crimes.

“If committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, further to a State or organizational policy, these violations may constitute crimes against humanity,” the report says.

Turk urged support for the work of accountability mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court, in relation to the conflict in Gaza, for the exercise of universal jurisdiction to investigate and try crimes under international law in national courts, and for compliance with extradition requests of suspects of such crimes to countries where they would receive a fair trial.

The report highlights repeated statements from Israeli officials calling for Gaza’s entire destruction and the exodus of its people.

It documents Israel’s efforts to “rationalize discrimination, hostility and violence towards, and even the elimination of, Palestinians.”

The report underscores how civilians have borne the brunt of the attacks, including through the initial “complete siege” of Gaza, as well as Israel’s continuing “unlawful failures” to allow the entry of humanitarian aid, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and mass displacement of Palestinians.

“This conduct by Israeli Forces has caused unprecedented levels of killings, death, injury, starvation, illness and disease,” the reports says, adding that Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups have also committed serious violations of international law on a wide scale

“The rules of war, in force now for 160 years, were designed to limit and prevent human suffering in times of armed conflict,” Turk said.

“Their wanton disregard has led to the current extremes of human suffering which we continue to see today.

“It seems inconceivable that the parties to the conflict refuse to apply universally accepted and binding norms developed to preserve the very bare minimum of humanity.”  

The UN Human Rights Office says close to 70 percent of fatalities in Gaza are children and women, indicating “a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction and proportionality.”

The continuation of these attacks “demonstrates an apparent indifference to the death of civilians and the impact of the means and methods of warfare selected,” the report states. 

It also raises concerns over the forcible transfer of Palestinians, attacks on hospitals in “apparent systematic fashion” as well as journalists, and the reported use of white phosphorus munitions.

“Our monitoring indicates that this unprecedented level of killing, and injury of civilians is a direct consequence of the failure to comply with fundamental principles of international humanitarian law — namely the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack,” Turk said. 

“Tragically, these documented patterns of violations continue unabated, over one year after the start of the war.

“The trends and patterns of violations, and of applicable international law as clarified by the International Court of Justice, must inform the steps to be taken to end the current crisis,” he added.

“The violence must stop immediately, the hostages and those arbitrarily detained must be released, and we must focus on flooding Gaza with humanitarian aid.” 


Jordan’s tourism industry struggling as Gaza war deters visitors

Jordan’s tourism industry struggling as Gaza war deters visitors
Updated 09 November 2024
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Jordan’s tourism industry struggling as Gaza war deters visitors

Jordan’s tourism industry struggling as Gaza war deters visitors
  • Sites such as Petra, Wadi Rum and crusader castles have been drawing visitors for decades
  • Flight ticket bookings to Jordan are down 35 percent year-on-year between Sept. 16 and Oct. 4

PETRA, Jordan/LONDON: Enas Al-Hinti has cut staff pay in half and asked workers to take unpaid leave in an effort to keep her hotel in ancient Petra open as Western holidaymakers fearful of conflict shun destinations in the Middle East.
A crisis across the region’s tourism industry since the start of the Israel-Hamas war 13 months ago is being felt acutely in Jordan, whose border with Israel along the Red Sea and Dead Sea is studded with beach resorts.
Sites such as Petra, Wadi Rum and crusader castles have been drawing visitors for decades — more than one million a year before the war, mainly Americans and Europeans.
But Reuters reporters on a recent trip to the city carved from rose-colored rock — Jordan’s most-visited tourist attraction — found businesses boarded up by their owners.
“There are no revenues, it’s all losses,” Al-Hinti, who runs the Nomads hotel, said.
Data and interviews with seven hotel and business owners and tour operators underline the damage to the tourist industry, which last year made up 12.5 percent of the economy.
Flight ticket bookings to Jordan, which is not involved in the conflict, were down 35 percent year-on-year between Sept. 16 and Oct. 4, data from travel intelligence firm ForwardKeys shows.
The situation has worsened since Iran’s drone strike attack on Israel in April and following tit-for-tat military strikes between Israel and Iran, said Seif Saudi, the managing director of Amman-based in Jordan Direct Tours.
“Things were starting to look up for October, but the second attack erased all those gains.”
LONG-TERM DAMAGE
The tourist industry across the Middle East is struggling. Flight bookings to the region are down six percent year-on-year since the war erupted after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, ForwardKeys data shows.
Bookings to Israel and Lebanon fell even more sharply than those to Jordan between Sept. 16 and Oct. 4, while Oman, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have seen smaller declines.
The recent regional escalation of the conflict, including intensified Israeli attacks on Lebanon’s Hezbollah armed group, has dashed hopes for a recovery in the cooler autumn months, a key season for Middle East tourism.
International tour groups like Intrepid and Riviera Travel said they canceled tours to Jordan and Egypt after Iran showered Israel with ballistic missiles on Oct. 1.
Hotel occupancy rates in Petra have fallen on average to as low as 10 percent, estimates Abdullah Hasanat, president of the Petra Hotels Association.
“We are searching for a savior. All the investments in Petra are in intensive care. When tourism stopped, bookings stopped,” Hasanat, who owns a hotel himself, said. Most international carriers have halted flights to Beirut and Tel Aviv, but some, such as Ryanair, have also paused flights to Jordan, in part due to its proximity to Israeli and Lebanese airspace.
Hotel owners said Ryanair’s decision in particular meant far fewer Western tourists came to the country. Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said in October it was a “sensible” move given the closure of airspace at the time.
Before the war, Christian tourists making pilgrimages to Israel often also tagged on a trip to Jordan.
WHAT’S NEXT
Business owners say the damage will be long-term.
Future bookings have evaporated, forcing hotel managers like Al-Hinti to dip into their financial reserves to continue paying salaries. She is keeping her hotel open, but with fewer floors available.
“We are facing next year with a drop of not less than 90-95 percent (in bookings),” said Nabih Riyal, CEO of Plaza Tours, which runs holidays with European and American operators.
Jordan’s tourism sector has survived previous crises related to the prolonged conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, Tourism Minister Lina Annab said.
“This calls for us to really focus on our most resilient markets, which are not as affected by the situation,” Annab said, adding that visitors are still coming from neighboring countries.
Some Western tourists are undeterred too.
“We knew that the trip would be canceled if it was really risky,” said Dorothy Lawson, a tourist from California, walking around Petra in late October. “They said we could come. So we came and we’re really glad we did.”
But businesses that rely on big crowds are struggling to survive.
“We used to have 4,000 visitors every day,” said Marcus Massoud, a salesman in one of Petra’s many souvenir shops.
“Now we have 300 to 400. It’s not like before.”