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Second shipment with almost 400 tonnes of food for Gaza leaves Cyprus port

US-based charity World Central Kitchen arranged the mission with Spain's Open Arms charity, with financing mainly from the UAE

Published: Sat 30 Mar 2024, 6:26 PM

Updated: Sat 30 Mar 2024, 9:54 PM

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A Cyprus Coast Guard patrol boat approaches the Guinea-Bissau-flagged cargo ship Jennifer, carrying food aid for the Gaza Strip, off the coast of Cyprus' southern port city of Laranca. — AFP

A Cyprus Coast Guard patrol boat approaches the Guinea-Bissau-flagged cargo ship Jennifer, carrying food aid for the Gaza Strip, off the coast of Cyprus' southern port city of Laranca. — AFP

Three ships and a barge finally set sail from Cyprus on Saturday following better weather conditions, carrying hundreds of tonnes of food destined for northern Gaza.

This second shipment, which carries almost 400 tonnes, has enough food to prepare more than one million meals, and includes self-stable and ready-to-eat items such as rice, pasta, flour, legumes, canned vegetables, and proteins.

The historic opening of the maritime route to Gaza by sea is conducted by World Central Kitchen and Open Arms, in close partnership with the UAE, and the support of Cyprus.

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By opening this maritime aid corridor with Open Arms and Cyprus, the UAE and World Central Kitchen are able to scale humanitarian efforts in Gaza.

On the first mission earlier in March, it built a makeshift jetty from rubble to enable offloading almost 200 tonnes of food in the enclave, which does not have any port facilities. Saturday's dispatch includes two forklifts and a crane to assist with future marine deliveries.

Separately, the United States plans to construct a floating pier off Gaza to receive aid. The target date for completion is May 1, but it could be ready by around April 15, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said late on Friday.

To date, World Central Kitchen has provided more than 43 million meals by land, air, and sea to Palestinians facing starvation.

The UAE has delivered 26,000 tonnes of urgent supplies, including food, water, and medical items, dispatched through 229 flights, 19 airdrops, 1,035 trucks, and three ships.

While this initiative is getting desperately needed food to the Palestinians, the opening of land crossings remains paramount to avert famine.

The United Nations has warned that famine is imminent in the northern Gaza Strip, where 300,000 people are trapped by fighting. Across the whole of the enclave more than half its population of 2.3 million people could face famine by July.

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