Aerial view shows a World Central Kitchen (WCK) barge loaded with food arriving off Gaza, where there is risk of famine after five months of Israel's military campaign, in this handout image released 15 March 2024; Credit: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via Reuters

GAZA STRIP (Reuters) - A ship towing a barge loaded with food arrived off Gaza on Friday 15 March 2024, witnesses said, in a test run for a new aid route by sea from Cyprus into the devastated Palestinian enclave where famine looms after five months of Israel's military campaign.

The ship, arranged by the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity, is carrying nearly 200 tonnes of aid to be delivered via a jetty being prepared in Gaza, with a second ship expected to sail soon.

Floating on a barge attached by rope to a salvage ship, rough seas appeared to slow down the cargo reaching land, footage posted by a WCK official on social media showed.

WCK has been constructing a makeshift jetty which would allow the flat-bottomed barge to approach Gaza's shallow waters for lack of proper port infrastructure.

"So far two crates already delivered from the barge," WCK founder Jose Andres, a Michelin-starred chef, said in a post on X. "But still more to do next few [h]ours".

There are few details on how the aid delivery and distribution will work once it is ready to unload in Gaza, with UN relief agencies having described huge obstacles to getting relief supplies to those in need.

If the new sea route is successful, it may help to ease the hunger crisis affecting Gaza, where much of the population faces malnourishment and hospitals in the worst-stricken northern areas have reported children dying of starvation.

However, bringing in aid by sea and through airdrops will not be enough to make up for difficulties getting in supplies by land, aid agencies have repeatedly said.

The war in Gaza began on 7 October 2023 when Hamas fighters rampaged into Israel killing 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's air and ground campaign has since killed more than 31,000 Palestinians according to health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza, while driving most of the population from their homes and pushing the enclave towards famine.