The ship of the Spanish NGO Open Arms will delay its departure to Gaza until at least tomorrow to bring 200 tons of food to alleviate the famine in the Strip, after five months of war between Israel and Hamas, one of the organizing entities of the event told EFE. this shipment of humanitarian aid.
The boat, moored in the Cypriot port of Larnaca, will not leave before tomorrow, according to what Linda Roth, from the communication team of World Central Kitchen, an NGO founded by the renowned Spanish chef José Andrés, and which is responsible for this, told EFE. operating alongside Open Arms. "We are waiting for all the appropriate circumstances to occur," she said.
Previously, Roth had indicated that there are several factors that come together when determining the time of departure, from weather conditions to security guarantees and permits from Israel.
The ship is ready to leave yesterday, Saturday, to transport 200 tons of food such as flour, rice and cans of tuna to Gaza, which will be distributed on the ground by World Central Kitchen.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus had indicated to EFE that the plan was for the ship to set sail during the weekend.
The initiative has been months in the making and the ship has been docked in the Cypriot port of Larnaca since mid-February.
In fact, this operation by the two NGOs "has nothing to do" with the imminent opening of a humanitarian corridor announced last Friday by the president of the European Commission (EC), Ursula Von der Leyen, as Laura Lanuza told EFE. , Director of Communications and Projects at Open Arms.
Von der Leyen announced on Friday the imminent opening of this mission under the name Amalthea, in which the EU, the US and countries such as the United Arab Emirates collaborate, and noted that the operation would begin this weekend with a "pilot operation", without give more details.
A spokesperson for the Cypriot Government said this Sunday that this initiative will be launched in the next few hours "according to initial planning and in official consultation with Israel," reports the CNA agency.
Without mentioning Open Arms, he added that the exact time of the shipment's departure "will not be revealed for security reasons."
He also assured that the cargo has been reviewed by the Cypriot authorities and that this country is in contact with all the partners involved to "achieve a reliable channel for the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to the civilian population of Gaza."
The Open Arms ship plans to open a maritime corridor to bring aid to the Strip and alleviate the harsh humanitarian situation caused by Israel's blockade and its harsh punishment attacks in response to the attacks by the Islamist group Hamas on October 7. .
The operation has authorization from the Government of Cyprus, Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, according to Open Arms.
While a truce is negotiated between Israel and Hamas, the international community continues to pressure Israel to allow more humanitarian aid access to Gaza, especially in the north, where 700,000 people are at risk of famine.
The United States announced this Sunday that it has already sent a ship to the maritime aid corridor from Cyprus, after US President Joe Biden announced that a temporary port will be built in the Gaza Strip to facilitate the disembarkation and distribution of aid. humanitarian.
In five months of war, more than 30,900 people have died in the Gaza Strip in Israeli retaliation attacks to the attacks in which Hamas murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 253, of whom 130 remain captive within the enclave.
