UN Says Maritime Corridor to Gaza No Substitute for Aid Delivery by Land

Displaced Palestinians gather to collect food donated by a charitable youth group before breakfast, on the second day of the holy month of Ramadan in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, 12 March 2024. (EPA)
Displaced Palestinians gather to collect food donated by a charitable youth group before breakfast, on the second day of the holy month of Ramadan in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, 12 March 2024. (EPA)
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UN Says Maritime Corridor to Gaza No Substitute for Aid Delivery by Land

Displaced Palestinians gather to collect food donated by a charitable youth group before breakfast, on the second day of the holy month of Ramadan in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, 12 March 2024. (EPA)
Displaced Palestinians gather to collect food donated by a charitable youth group before breakfast, on the second day of the holy month of Ramadan in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, 12 March 2024. (EPA)

Senior United Nations officials on Tuesday welcomed the opening of a maritime corridor from Cyprus to deliver additional aid to the Gaza Strip, but said it could not replace the delivery of humanitarian assistance by land.

"For aid delivery at scale, there is no meaningful substitute to the many land routes and entry points from Israel into Gaza. The land routes from Egypt, Rafah in particular, and Jordan also remain essential to the overall humanitarian effort," said UN Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag and UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) Executive Director Jorge Moreira da Silva.

"The maritime corridor brings, however, much needed additionality and is part of a sustained humanitarian response to provide aid as effectively as possible through all possible routes," they said.



US Navy Destroys Houthi Missiles and Drones Targeting American Ships in Gulf of Aden

This is a locator map of Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)
This is a locator map of Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)
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US Navy Destroys Houthi Missiles and Drones Targeting American Ships in Gulf of Aden

This is a locator map of Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)
This is a locator map of Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)

US Navy destroyers shot down seven missiles and drones fired by Yemen’s Houthi group at the warships and three American merchant vessels they were escorting through the Gulf of Aden. No damage or injuries were reported.
US Central Command said late Sunday that the destroyers USS Stockdale and USS O’Kane shot down and destroyed three anti-ship ballistic missiles, three drones and one anti-ship cruise missile. The merchant ships were not identified, reported The Associated Press.
The Houthis claimed the attack in a statement and said they had targeted the US destroyers and "three supply ships belonging to the American army in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden.”
Houthi attacks for months have targeted shipping through a waterway where $1 trillion in goods pass annually over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Israel’s ground offensive in Lebanon. A ceasefire was announced last week.
The USS Stockdale was involved in a similar attack on Nov. 12.