UAE-Funded Gaza Aid Vessel Loaded With Food Delayed In Cyprus Port

A ship loaded with tons of food for Gaza docked at a Cyprus port on Sunday as preparations were underway to launch an untested maritime aid channel to the enclave. The U.N. estimates that one-quarter of the population encounters starvation. The Open Arms, a salvage vessel, is planning on towing a barge with 200 tons of food, which is being funded largely by the UAE.

The supplies were sourced by the charity World Central Kitchen (abbreviated as WCK), which works with Spain’s non-governmental organization, Proactiva Open Arms. WCK has also informed us that it has 500 additional tons of supplies in Cyprus that will be dispatched in its upcoming missions.

Video Credits: Associated Press/YouTube

However, the timing of the aid’s departure wasn’t precise. The cargo was packed late on Saturday. However, one of the sources informed that the departure was partially contingent on building a makeshift jetty in Gaza to facilitate deliveries since the strip lacked port infrastructure.

WCK is currently building the jetty out of rubble.

Jose Andres, WCK’s founder and a Michelin-starred chef, said on X that he hopes WCK succeeds in coming up with a new way to bolster the arrival of food in Gaza. The pilot assignment envisages carrying aid to Gaza directly, which has reportedly been sealed off from the world from the time Israel started a war in response to an October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.

The mission, if successful, would signal the easing of Israel’s naval blockade brought upon Gaza in 2007 after Hamas acquired complete control of the Palestinian enclave. When the humanitarian crisis in Gaza became desperate, the international players scrambled to find alternative routes for supplying the aid.

The U.S. Army dispatched a logistics vessel carrying equipment days after Joe Biden said the U.S. would build a temporary pier to facilitate aid deliveries. Cyprus noted that the cargoes are to undergo security examinations in Cyprus by a team, including Israel, eradicating the requirement for screenings at the offloading point to avoid possible hold-ups in aid deliveries.

Reference: Reuters

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Source: Maritime Shipping News