A shipload of aid from Cyprus prepares to head to Gaza

A ship loaded with 200 tons of food aid is expected to leave the Cypriot port of Larnaca sometime on Saturday, bound for Gaza as a pilot for establishing a maritime aid corridor for the troubled enclave.

The ship is owned by the Spanish aid non-governmental organization Open Arms. The pilot aid delivery is a joint project between the organization and World Central Kitchen, the food aid organization founded by chef José Andrés, founder Oscar Campos told The Associated Press in an interview. .

The opening of the Maritime Assistance Corridor is a joint project of the European Commission, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, the Republic of Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

U.S. President Joe Biden mentioned the project in his State of the Union address on Thursday, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the launch of the program in Cyprus on Friday. Biden said the U.S. military will establish a “temporary dock” along the Gaza coast to help deliver aid to the area.

The U.S. military said construction of the temporary dock could take up to 60 days. Among the first shipments, World Central Kitchen is building a temporary terminal of its own at an undisclosed location in Gaza, Campos said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Once the food is unloaded, it will be distributed at 60 locations set up by World Central Kitchen in Gaza.

An Open Arms spokesman told AFP the ship would leave Cyprus once it received “all authorizations and permissions” required.

Observers believe the opening of the sea corridor and the recent start of aid airdrops on Saturday are evidence of growing dissatisfaction with Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and the international community’s willingness to bypass Israeli restrictions.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Hayat issued a statement on his X social media account (formerly Twitter) saying that Israel welcomes the opening of the maritime corridor from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip. “Cyprus’ initiative will allow for increased humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, subject to security checks in accordance with Israeli standards.”

Information for this report was provided in part by The Associated Press, Reuters and AFP.