Distraught Egyptians Desperately Throw Bottles With Aid Into Sea, To Reach Starving Gazans
Amid the horrific ongoing starvation and poverty in the war-ravaged Gaza, consciousness-stricken people from neighboring Egypt and north African countries have launched a symbolic initiative – throwing two little bottles filled with aid into the besieged Strip. The endeavour, known as “From Sea to Sea – a Bottle of Hope for Gaza,” has drawn international attention amid reports of casualties from the mass starvation and acute food shortages among Palestinians who have been struggling with the 22 month-long Israeli offensive and blockage.
Videos that went viral on social media show Egyptians fill the bottle with grains, rice, lentils, and other dry food supplies and throw them into the Mediterranean Sea in the hope that they will reach the starving people in Gaza.
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In their desperate attempt to overcome Israel’s total blackade and the resultant acute starvation amid reports of poverty-induced deaths in the strip, hundreds of Egyptians participated in the symbolic action for helpless people in Gaza.
For the past few months, Israel has stopped emergency aid from entering Gaza, leaving many starving to death.
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People from countries bordering the Mediterranean, including Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco, are also to be part of the initiative, as per the reports from local media.
The symbolic move has taken the social media by storm, with netizens expressing their support for the desperate attempt by the people, at least if not by the governments. An Egyptian academic and engineer based in Japan reportedly proposed the idea, suggesting aid be delivered to Gaza via sea amid the ongoing crippling siege imposed by Israel.
Users on social media praised the move, calling it a sincere expression in the face of the silence from the government.
The academician proposed the initiative with a practical method that a tightly sealed 25-liter plastic jerrycan can hold approximately six to eight kilograms of food, leaving an air gap of around eight liters to ensure buoyancy. He highlighted that the containers should be released at least four kilometers from the coast, at a 60-degree angle to the northeast, to bypass opposing currents.
The containers could reach the shores of Gaza within 72–96 hours, if sent from areas such as Damietta or east of Port, as the surface currents in the eastern Mediterranean flow from west to east, at a speed of up to 0.8km/h, he claimed.
However, videos being shared online show people in large numbers coming to the seashore and throwing aid bottles, expecting them to reach the hopeless, starving Palestinians in Gaza.
