UK aid is on the move, heading straight to Gaza from Cyprus. We’re talking nearly 100 tonnes of help, including 8,400 shelter kits made from plastic sheeting, as the first wave of a £2 million UK aid package. This delivery is set to land at a temporary pier on Gaza’s coast, which the US Navy and Army whipped up. The plan is to get 90 truckloads of international aid into Gaza every day, aiming to ramp it up to 150 trucks daily once everything’s up and running.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is buzzing about this. He says the UK’s been hustling 24/7 with allies to open up all possible routes to get aid into Gaza – by land, air, and sea. This first shipment from Cyprus to the new pier is a major win, but he knows it’s just the beginning. More needs to flow, especially by land, and the UK’s all in on making that happen while also working hard to get hostages out of Gaza.
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron is all about getting aid to Gaza however possible. Teaming up with the US, Cyprus, and other partners, he’s stoked the UK’s part of the first aid drop to the pier. But he’s clear – the pier’s crucial, but land routes gotta step up too. Israel’s promises to boost access are cool, but they need to walk the talk. More aid needs to cross the borders, Ashdod port should fully open for aid deliveries, and land crossings need to be open longer with better safety measures.
The UK’s played a key role in setting up this maritime aid corridor. They’ve thrown in £9.7 million for aid, starting with those 8,400 shelter kits, and also adding 5 forklift trucks, 900 family tents, another 2,000 coverage kits, 9,200 hygiene kits, plus help coordinating logistics in Cyprus. The Ministry of Defence even pitched in with accommodation on RFA Cardigan Bay for US military folks building the pier.
While the new sea route is a big deal, it’s not replacing land routes, which are still the fastest and most effective for getting aid into Gaza. The UK’s pushing Israel to keep its promise to let at least 500 aid trucks cross into Gaza through land crossings and to open as many routes as possible, including Ashdod. Ashdod’s a fully functional port with way more capacity for aid than the maritime pier could ever handle.
The UK’s pulling out all the stops to get more aid into Gaza by land and air too. They tripled their humanitarian funding to the Occupied Palestinian Territories last year, dropping more than £100 million for vital medical, shelter, nutrition, and water/sanitation support.
