Egyptians have taken a new initiative to send food to the starving people of Gaza by sea. The symbolic initiative has been named-‘From Sea to Sea’, a bottle of hope for Gaza. The initiative has seen Egyptians fill one or two-litre bottles with grains, rice, lentils, and other dry fruit supplies before placing them in the Mediterranean Sea in the hope that they will reach Gaza.
A lot of Egyptians have recorded their video and have uploaded them on social media, sending the food supplies in water bottles through the sea. Participants in the initiative said that it came as a desperate measure to overcome Israel’s crippling siege, which has seen trucks of emergency aid being stopped at the border crossing while hundreds and thousands of Gaza people are starving.
Child malnutrition has reached an alarming level, with deaths being reported due to malnutrition. Moreover, Israel is accused of killing people with direct shots when they come to receive aid on the borders. Those taking part in the initiative are also calling on people in countries bordering the Mediterranean, including Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco, to get involved. According to local Arabic media, the idea was inspired by the message in a bottle method and has since garnered widespread praise, particularly on social media platforms.
Read more: Starvation as a Weapon: Genocide by Siege in Gaza and Western Complicity
The idea was reportedly proposed by an Egyptian academic and an engineer based in Japan, who suggested that delivering food across the sea was the most practical method given the ongoing blockade on Gaza. In a Facebook post, he explained that a tightly sealed 25-litre plastic jerry can can hold approximately 6-8 kilograms of food, giving an air gap of around 8 litres to ensure buoyancy.
He added that the container should be released at least 4 km from the coast at a 60-degree angle to the northeast to bypass opposing currents. Many online users saw the post and expressed hope before going on to share videos of people who took on his suggestion. Some dubbed it a sincere expression in the face of the incompetence shown by several governments.
Others said that this symbolic initiative can be turned into effective popular pressure by supporting trusted relief organizations in demanding urgent international action to break the blockade and open crossings to allow in vital aid. Over 950 trucks worth of aid are believed to be stopped at the border between Egypt and Gaza, and the UN is making repeated calls that there is an urgent need for food supplies in Gaza to save the population from dying of hunger. Israeli forces have killed over 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food since the US and Israel backed the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to take control of operations in May.