Port of Ashdod

West Erez crossing

JLOTS pier

storage

Deir al Balah

warehouses

GAZA

ISRAEL

EGYPT

Port of Ashdod

West Erez crossing

JLOTS pier

storage

Deir al Balah

warehouses

WEST

BANK

ISRAEL

GAZA

EGYPT

Port of Ashdod

West Erez crossing

JLOTS pier

storage

WEST

BANK

Deir al Balah

warehouses

ISRAEL

GAZA

EGYPT

Port of Ashdod

West Erez crossing

JLOTS pier

storage

WEST

BANK

Deir al Balah

warehouses

ISRAEL

GAZA

EGYPT

Famagusta

Larnaca

Kyrenia

Nicosia

Famagusta

Larnaca

Paphos

Limassol

Kyrenia

Nicosia

Famagusta

Larnaca

Paphos

Limassol

Kyrenia

Nicosia

Famagusta

Larnaca

Paphos

Limassol

CYPRUS

ROUTE 2

ROUTE 1

GAZA

ISRAEL

CYPRUS

ROUTE 2

ROUTE 1

GAZA

ISRAEL

CYPRUS

ROUTE 2

ROUTE 1

GAZA

ISRAEL

CYPRUS

ROUTE 2

ROUTE 1

GAZA

ISRAEL

Fogbow Case Study

Delivering 6 Million Meals to Gaza

Following the events of October 7, Israel intensified border controls on Gaza, restricting movement and humanitarian aid. In May 2024, the closure of the Rafah crossing—Egypt’s only crossing with Gaza—further reduced access. Before the war, nearly 500 truckloads of food, fuel, and other products entered Gaza per day; truckloads had fallen to only 80 per day by June 2024. The impact was immediate: international aid organizations repeatedly warned of crisis levels of hunger affecting nearly the entire population. The need for alternative routes was critical.

Fogbow proposed a solution that was both ambitious and practical: deliver aid directly to Gaza's shoreline, creating a supply chain that could bypass the bottlenecks at land crossings.

Our initial vision was to construct an additional delivery avenue via maritime corridor. The system would feature temporary, removable beach landing sites that would increase the number of direct drop zones, adaptable in both scale and location. We planned to allow secure access to the piers by humanitarian organizations or other donors. While complex, this approach promised to dramatically increase aid delivery capacity—a single barge could carry 200 tons of food, equivalent to the cargo of close to 200 trucks that would otherwise face delays at land crossings.

As we were developing this plan, President Biden announced the construction of a military-run pier off Gaza's coast in his State of the Union address. Now with the U.S. military leading maritime aid delivery, we pivoted to support these efforts and deliver aid through U.S. approved routes. Operating with a lean budget and specialized team, Fogbow developed an efficient process working alongside government agencies, NGOs, and private-sector partners.

Our process

  • Procurement of aid
  • Preparation
  • Delivery to port
  • Delivery to Gaza
  • Distribution within Gaza

Procurement of aid

05.16.2024

Fogbow sourced 1,100 tons of flour from Cyprus—enough to provide over 6 million meals. As early as November 2023, Cyprus established a maritime corridor for emergency relief, making the country a vital hub in humanitarian efforts by the international community. Fogbow saw an opportunity to deepen its role. Rather than treating the island as only a transit point, we invested in the local economy by ensuring every step—from growing to milling to packaging—happened within Cyprus itself.

Preparation

05.17.2024 - 06.07.2024

The journey from bags of flour to aid-ready cargo required adaptable planning. With an eye towards contingency planning, we packaged our cargo in a way that could be loaded onto barges, military ships, or trucks. Over the next three weeks, we contracted local Cypriot companies to handle palletization and warehousing of 1,100 water-resistant palettes.

Delivery to port

06.26.2024 - 07.03.2024

The aid pallets of flour then moved to the Port of Larnaca, where they would be housed in secure storage specifically designated for humanitarian aid.

Before entering the port, each shipment underwent inspection by both Israeli and Cypriot customs officials. This dual clearance system, conducted at the port rather than at the destination, helped prevent delays later in the journey.

Transportation

We entered Gaza through two distinct routes:

Route 1:

Route 2:

The Joint Logistics Over the Shore (JLOTS) floating pier

An overland passage through Israel’s Port of Ashdod

Cyprus port

Cyprus port

1 day

1 day

Gaza pier

12 days

Held outside Israeli port

Gaza

warehouses

25-28 days

Held in port storage

40+ days

Transport

6 days

Gaza

border crossing

Route 1: The Joint Logistics Over the Shore (JLOTS) floating pier

Gaza pier

Cyprus

Gaza

12 days

port

warehouses

1 day

Route 2: An overland passage through Israel’s Port of Ashdod

Held outside Israeli port

Held in port storage

Transport begins

Cyprus

Gaza border

25-28 days

40+ days

6 days

port

crossing

1 day

Route 1: The Port of Larnaca to JLOTS Pier

Total delivery: 212 tons

06.26.2024 - 06.27.2024

The military-run pier required U.S. Army ships, so we forwent our barges and loaded 19% of our cargo onto the USS Cape Trinity, which arrived within a day of departure. From the floating pier, aid workers used smaller vessels to load the cargo onto trucks. While this route provided the most direct path into Gaza, operational challenges including weather conditions and security concerns limited its access. Despite these constraints, Fogbow became the fourth largest donor of aid via JLOTS.

Route 2: The Port of Larnaca to Port of Ashdod to West Erez

Total delivery: 888 tons

07.03.2024 - 08.08.2024

The inconsistent access to and eventual closure of the military pier in mid-July meant that our remaining cargo took a longer journey through the Port of Ashdod, a major Israeli port less than 25 miles north of Gaza. The cargo was loaded onto a US military ship on July 3, but faced delays in offloading at Ashdod due to the backlog caused by issues at the JLOTS pier.

Once offloaded, cargo was then brought to the Erez border crossing for clearing. World Food Program (WFP) trucks completed the final leg to warehouses in Deir al Balah. Despite the additional complexity and delays, this route proved necessary for delivering the remainder of our aid.

Distribution

07.05.2024 - 10.05.2024

From both routes, our aid arrived at humanitarian warehouses in Deir al Balah. These strategic locations served as distribution hubs where our trusted international NGO partner received the shipments, marking the final and most crucial phase of our operation.

The distribution effort moved swiftly. By early October, our NGO partner had distributed 39,132 bags of flour through their distribution points. This translated to 978.3 metric tons of flour, enough to provide more than 6.1 million meals to over 100,000 individuals.

Despite temporary ceasefires and diplomatic efforts, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza persists. The effects of 15 months of war have profoundly damaged the enclave’s infrastructure and left Gazan’s in great need. According to the United Nations, around 90% of Gaza’s population–almost 1.9 million people–remain displaced from their homes, facing critical shortages of food, clean water, and medical supplies.

With the JLOTS pier decommissioned after just 20 operational days and no functional maritime alternative, aid delivery continues to face significant challenges. Land crossings remain subject to restrictions and delays.

The scale of need outpaces what traditional aid channels can provide amid political transitions and shifting priorities among donor countries. In January 2025, the United Nations reported a $3.9 billion funding shortfall–meeting only 3.6% of the need–in the face of a massive funding shortfall from the previous year. This ongoing deficit, combined with geopolitical uncertainties and logistical hurdles, demands innovative approaches and new solutions.

The United Nations experienced a nearly $15 billion shortfall in funding, about a third of its projected needs for 2024.

Fogbow's pilot project demonstrated how private sector innovation can help bridge this gap. Our specialized expertise in military logistics, humanitarian response, and private sector efficiency allowed us to successfully deliver 1,100 tons of flour to Gaza. The maritime corridor we helped establish became a crucial lifeline, handling a significant portion of humanitarian aid delivered during its operation. We offer a blueprint for how the private sector can help deliver aid at scale, even in the most complex circumstances.

Meet the Fogbow team

Team