A US charity said it was loading aid for Gaza on a ship in Cyprus, the first shipment to the war-torn territory along a maritime corridor the European Commission hopes to open this weekend.
Three weeks ago, the Spanish-flagged ship Open Arms docked at the port of Larnaca, Cyprus, the EU country closest to the Gaza Strip.
“The World Central Kitchen team is in Cyprus loading humanitarian aid onto a ship bound for northern Gaza,” the charity said in a statement on Friday.
“We have been preparing for weeks with our trusted NGO partner Open Arms to open a maritime assistance corridor that will allow us to expand our efforts in the region,” the statement added.
The charity said it planned to tow a barge full of supplies for the people of Gaza. More than five months into Israel’s war with Hamas, dire humanitarian conditions there have led some countries to airdrop food and other aid.
“Efforts to establish a humanitarian maritime corridor in Gaza are making progress and our tugboats are ready to go, loaded with large quantities of food, water and vital supplies for Palestinian civilians,” Open Arms said on social media platform X.
In Larnaca, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had earlier expressed hope that the sea corridor would be open on Sunday, but details remained unclear.
She said a “pilot operation” would be launched on Friday with the assistance of the United Arab Emirates to ensure “the first shipments to the people of Gaza.”
Gaza has no functioning ports, and officials have not said where the first shipment will go, whether it will be subject to Israeli inspections or who will distribute the aid.
The Pentagon said on Friday that the United States plans to build a “temporary sea terminal” in Gaza, which will take up to 60 days and may involve more than 1,000 American personnel.
Israeli data shows that Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, triggering the Gaza war.
Israel, which has vowed to destroy Hamas, has responded with a ruthless military offensive that the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza says has killed at least 30,878 people, mostly women and children.
Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but maintained control of its airspace and territorial waters and said it “welcomed” the planned maritime corridor.
Follow us on Google news ,Twitter , and Join Whatsapp Group of thelocalreport.in
