War between Israel and Hamas: the first ship with humanitarian aid to Gaza left Cyprus

This is a welcome delivery to an area suffering from hunger. The first ship to use the sea corridor between Cyprus and the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory left the Cypriot port of Larnaca on Tuesday morning, one of the two NGOs responsible for the operation said. The ship of the Spanish NGO Open Arms, carrying 200 tons of food to be distributed in Gaza by Spanish-American chef José Andrés’ organization World Central Kitchen, “left” around 6:50 a.m. GMT (7:50 a.m.). morning in Paris), said Laura Lanuza, a spokeswoman for Open Arms.

According to World Central Kitchen, the batch contains “rice,” “flour,” “legumes,” “canned vegetables,” and “protein.” “Our rescue team is trying to send as many humanitarian boats as possible,” the NGO added in a post by X (formerly Twitter).

Pier built by NGO

While aid provided by land or air remains largely insufficient in the Gaza Strip, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed hope on Friday that a sea corridor would open on Sunday to allow aid to flow in from Cyprus, some 370 km from Gaza. This Saturday, Laura Lanuza already made it clear that everything is ready and the cargo is being inspected by the Israeli authorities. According to a WCK spokesperson, “there are already people in Gaza” and the NGO is “building a jetty” to be able to unload cargo in the coastal area.

The US Army logistics ship General Frank S. Besson also left the United States this Saturday with equipment needed to build a temporary pier announced Thursday by Joe Biden to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, US. This is stated in a statement by the military command of the Middle East (Centcom). Construction of the pier could take up to 60 days and would likely require more than 1,000 soldiers, according to the Pentagon.

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said this Saturday evening that Israel is “coordinating the establishment” of this pier and will distribute “supplies through international organizations.” According to the UN, 2.2 of the 2.4 million residents of the cramped Palestinian territory, which suffers from significant water and food shortages, are at risk of famine, while 1.7 million have been forced from their homes by fighting and violence.