An aid ship loaded with about 200 tons of food has set sail for Gaza in a pilot program for the opening of a sea corridor to the besieged enclave.
The charity ship, named, Open Arms, left Larnaca port in Cyprus and is expected to arrive in Gaza in two to three days.
The food was gathered by World Central Kitchen, a U.S Based charity founded by celebrity chef, José Andrés.
The mission is mostly funded by the United Arab Emirates while Spanish charity, Proactiva Open Arms supplied the ship.
The shipment is said to include non-perishable dry and canned food, water and medicines; provisions that are desperately needed in Gaza as the five-month-old Israel-Hamas war has driven hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to the brink of starvation.
Government officials in Cyprus said that the exact timing of the vessel’s departure would not be released “for security reasons.”
The inaugural voyage is considered a pilot mission with officials saying it will highlight the perils and problems future operations are likely to face.
Open Arms had originally been set to leave Larnaca on Friday, March 8, 2024, then Sunday and Monday with the missed deadlines, ultimately attributed to “technical reasons,” sparking widespread speculation over what, exactly, was stopping it.
By late Monday, Greek Cypriot media were reporting that the Open Arms had been delayed for no other reason than that there was nowhere to land the shipment.
The United States has separately announced plans to construct a sea bridge near Gaza in order to deliver aid, but it will likely be several weeks before it is operational.
The Open Arms aid ship is expected to arrive in Gaza around the same time that a US army ship is also expected to reach the war-ravaged territory’s shores.
The General Frank S. Besson, a logistics support vessel, left the Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia on Sunday, March 10, 2024, “less than 36 hours after President Biden announced that the U.S would provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea,” the U.S army said in a statement.
The vessel, which is equipped with bow and stern ramps – giving it the ability to beach itself – was described as “carrying the first equipment to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies.”
There are no functioning ports in Gaza making the construction of a temporary pier vital at this stage of the aid mission.
Ursula von der Leyen Lauds President Of Cyprus
The EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, thanked the President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, for the island’s “leadership in setting up the humanitarian maritime corridor to Gaza.”
The EU Chief wrote on X that “the departure of the first ship is a sign of hope.”
“We will work together for many more ships to follow. We will do everything in our power for aid to reach Palestinians,” she added.
In his own post on X, the Cypriot President described the initiative as “a lifeline to civilians.”
He noted, “The Amalthia journey is one of hope and humanity, and it has only just began. The first ship in the context of the Cyprus Maritime Corridor Initiative for humanitarian aid to Gaza has sailed.”
The corridor, called the Amalthieia initiative after the life-giving foster mother of Zeus in Greek mythology, was first proposed in October but Israeli security concerns had repeatedly delayed the plan.
Israeli agents who previously inspected facilities in Larnaca expressed had fears of Hamas militants hiding weapons among aid shipments.
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