An aid ship docked in Cyprus is preparing to sail for Gaza as the war between Israel and Hamas continues to rage in the strip at the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
According to German public broadcaster DW, the Spanish aid group Proactiva Open Arms has a ship docked at the Cypriot port of Larnaca and is expected to sail into Gaza with some 200 metric tons of food aid.
The United Nations repeatedly warned of famine in Gaza, into which aid groups said that only a fraction of the supplies required to meet basic humanitarian needs have been allowed to flow since the war began on October 7.
However, as of Monday morning local time (Mar. 11), it remained unclear exactly when the ship would depart after a delay due to "technical issues."
Israel earlier said that it welcomed the sea deliveries and would inspect the cargo bound for Gaza before the ship leaves Cyprus.
DW correspondent Rosie Birchard said that the aid included "things like flour, rice, [and] protein like canned tuna," some of which were supplied by US charity World Central Kitchen (WCK), which said that construction work began on a landing jetty in Gaza.
"The idea is that Cypriot officials check the goods here in Cyprus, overseen by Israeli officials, before it departs so that they can go directly to Gaza," Birchard added.
If cleared to sail, the ship should take two to three days to arrive at an undisclosed location in Gaza. Upon arrival, the cargo would be set to be offloaded by a crane, placed on trucks, and driven north, where food was said to be in very short supply.
"I hope @WCKitchen succeeds in delivering a new way to increase the arrival of food in Gaza, [and it is] complicated..with so many unknowns and challenges," WCK's founder Jose Andres, a Michelin-starred chef, said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. "But we never follow a plan, we adapt! And the plan writes itself as we go. And we will find the way."
