The Open Arms ship is back in the port of Larnaca, Cyprus, and will no longer sail its cargo barge to the coast of Gaza "after the devastating attack suffered
by the humanitarian convoy of the organization founded by chef José Andrés, and the death of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) collaborators," says a statement from the NGO, noting that "this attack, perpetrated by the Defense Forces of Israel (IDF) last Monday marks a painful turning point in our efforts to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza."
It turns out that the food shipment that WCK collaborators took care of in the past had arrived in Gaza from Open Arms. Two other ships had left Cyprus on March 31 and in total were carrying almost 400 tons of food. It was the second shipment, after that successful first delivery on March 15.
According to the Catalan NGO's note, "once they arrived on the Gaza coast last Monday, the Open Arms and WCK teams managed to disembark the first 100 tons of food, which the WCK ground team quickly moved to a warehouse in Deir. Balah, in the Strip. A few minutes after completing the landing operation, the convoy, made up of three vehicles clearly identified with the logo of
WCK, was attacked by three missiles launched by the IDF at separate times. This happened even though the organization had coordinated its movements with Israeli authorities, who were aware of its itinerary, route and humanitarian mission.
