Royal Navy ship to be sent to Gaza to help aid to get into war-torn strip
6 April 2024, 22:32
A Royal Navy ship will be deployed to help get more aid into Gaza, the UK has announced.
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Alongside the vessel, which is not being named for security, the Government announced a £9.7 million package for aid deliveries, logistical expertise and equipment support for a humanitarian corridor in the eastern Mediterranean between Cyprus and Gaza.
Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron said the UK and its allies needed to "explore all options" including sea and air deliveries to "ease the desperate plight of some of the world's most vulnerable people" in the territory.
News of the UK's support for the international aid effort came as Israel marked six months since the October 7 attacks in which Hamas killed more than 1,100 people and kidnapped about 250.
It is also nearly a week since an Israel Defence Forces air strike killed three British aid workers in Gaza, in an attack the IDF later admitted was a "grave mistake".
The UK Government continues to call for further safety measures to protect aid workers on the ground in Gaza from being caught up in the fighting.
Lord Cameron said: "The situation in Gaza is dire and the prospect of famine is real. We remain committed to getting aid to those who so desperately need it.
"Along with the US, Cyprus and other partners, we are setting up a new temporary pier off the coast of Gaza to get aid in as quickly and securely as possible.
"Land access remains crucial to deliver aid at the scale now required. The opening of Erez and the Port of Ashdod is hugely welcome and something the UK has long been calling for.
"Israel has also agreed to increase the number of aid trucks entering Gaza to a minimum of 500 a day.
"But we need to continue to explore all options, including by sea and air, to ease the desperate plight of some of the world's most vulnerable people."
The British armed forces have dropped 40 tonnes of aid into Gaza in recent weeks to tackle the bottleneck in supplies reaching Palestinians.
The five air drops have seen supplies including water, flour and baby formula parachuted into the territory.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the RAF had played a "central role" in delivering aid.
He added: "We are now going further, working with international partners to set up a humanitarian maritime corridor from Cyprus to Gaza.
"A new temporary pier on the coast of Gaza will be critical to supporting these efforts, by hosting cargo ships to deliver aid by sea."
