First ship carrying food aid arrives in Gaza

A ship carrying food aid arrived on Friday in Gaza. A tugboat pulled the first shipment of 200 tons of food from nonprofits.

In what appears to be the first step in the opening of a "maritime corridor" of aid to Gaza, a ship and tugboat arrived just offshore on Friday, before a smaller barge brought the desperately needed food to shore.

One man waiting on the Gaza shore said, "I will take the aid for my children. I want to feed them because they are dying of hunger."

The ship — carrying 200 tons of rice, flour, canned beans and other food — left Cyprus several days ago. It is part of a partnership between the Spanish nonprofit Open Arms and the U.S.-based World Central Kitchen, which was founded by Chef Jose Andres. 

"I'm very hopeful that we can be bringing millions and millions of meals daily," Andres said.

World Central Kitchen currently has more than 60 community kitchens operating in Gaza, but food is hard to come by there.