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Humanitarian aid for Gaza, loaded on a platform is pictured next to a rescue vessel of the Spanish NGO Open Arms at the port of Larnaca, Cyprus, March 12, 2024. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou

First ship with food aid to Gaza left Cyprus

The humanitarian aid ship Open Arms finally set sail on Tuesday for Gaza accompanied by another vessel, inaugurating the operation of the Larnaca to Gaza sea-corridor dubbed as ‘Amalthea’.

This is the first time a ship has been authorized to deliver aid to Gaza since 2005.

The ship, carrying almost 200 tonnes of food, left for Gaza shortly before 9 a.m.

The trip is expected to take two days and the vessel will carry an MMS Aris floating unit, as Gaza has no port structure. The ship is escorted by another smaller vessel, reportedly for security purposes.
If successful, the mission will signal the first easing of an Israeli naval blockade imposed on Gaza in 2007 after Hamas took control of the Palestinian enclave.

Although the journey can take as little as 15 hours and Cyprus is just 322km north-west of the destination, the vessel is expected to take longer due to the heavy tow barge.

The barge is loaded with rice, flour, pulses, canned vegetables and protein, to be delivered to the enclaved Palestinian population living under conditions of starvation.

President Nikos Christodoulides in a post on platform X, said the Cyprus maritime corridor initiative was one of “hope and humanity” and a “lifeline for civilians”.

US-based NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK), to whom the boat belongs, said the group was working alongside the UAE and Cyprus foreign ministry to send as many aid boats as possible.

In a statement to Reuters, WCK founder Jose Andres and chief executive officer Erin Gore said the goal is to “establish a maritime highway of boats and barges stocked with millions of meals continuously headed towards Gaza.”

WCK said it has a further 500 tonnes of aid in Cyprus ready for dispatch.

The cargo was finally dispatched after a four-day delay due to technical difficulties, relating to the unloading of the shipment in Gaza.

Information later emerged that the departure of the ship had to be re-evaluated on Tuesday, as a US-built temporary pier, to be constructed at the landing site in Gaza in lieu of a port and dock, was not ready.

WCK has said it was creating a landing jetty in Gaza with material from destroyed buildings and rubble. This is a separate initiative from that announced by the US.

Cargoes are to undergo security inspections in Cyprus by a team including personnel from Israel, eliminating the need for screenings at its final offloading point, according to Reuters. Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Monday that Israeli checks of the vessel has been carried out “in accordance with all the protocols included in the initiative’s planning.”

Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos on Monday also announced that the arrival of a second aid vessel was awaited and that the country aims to play a key role in the post-war reconstruction of Palestine.
source: cyprusmail.com

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