Efe Brussels

Brussels

Updated Saturday, March 16, 2024-10:52

The high representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs,

Josep Borrell

, thanked the NGO World Central Kitchen of

Spanish chef José Andrés

last night for bringing food to

Gaza

on the

Open Arms

ship , but demanded that the food arrive above all by land to the Strip.

"Humanitarian aid must reach Gaza quickly and by all possible means, especially by land, to prevent famine from spreading," Borrell said in a message through his official account on the social network X.

The head of European diplomacy thanked the World Central Kitchen entity for "its act of humanity", which represents "a ray of hope in these dark times."

The organization sent

200 tons of food

, equivalent to 37 million meals, according to José Andrés, which arrived this Friday afternoon in Gaza via the ship of the Spanish rescue NGO Open Arms.

This landing inaugurated the

first maritime humanitarian corridor

from Cyprus to the Strip with the aim of alleviating hunger in the Palestinian enclave, given the limited aid that Israel still allows to arrive by land after five months of war.

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A large part of the population suffers from hunger in the midst of a conflict that has already left 31,500 dead and more than 73,400 injured in Gaza, mostly women and children, in a war that began after the October 7 attacks by the Islamist group

Hamas

on

Israel.

, which caused 1,200 deaths and 250 hostages.

This Wednesday, senior officials from the

EU, the United States, the United Kingdom, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar

urged Israel to open avenues so that humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip can enter by land, after holding a telematic meeting.

In the subsequent statement, they assured that, to achieve large-scale aid delivery, "there is no substitute for land routes via

Egypt and Jordan

" or "entry points from Israel to Gaza."

In addition, they stressed "the need for Israel to open additional crossings so that more aid can reach Gaza, including the north."

On March 2, Borrell called on Israel in a statement to eliminate restrictions on the entry of supplies at the

Kerem Shalom

crossing and demanded the opening of the

Karni and Erez passes

, in the north, as well as the use of the

port. of Ashdod

for humanitarian aid and the creation of a direct humanitarian corridor from Jordan.