Gaza Aid Is Loaded Onto a Second Ship From Cyprus, Says a Charity

(CTN News) – It was reported on Thursday that a second ship with food aid for Gaza was being loaded in Cyprus, according to a charity coordinating the mission, as a pilot ship for maritime deliveries neared the besieged Palestinian enclave as part of a pilot program.

There were 300 tonnes of food aid being loaded at the port of Larnaca by the World Central Kitchen (WCK), including legumes, canned tuna, vegetables, rice, flour, and other staples.

According to WCK in a statement issued on Monday, the pallets should be screened and loaded by the end of the day Cyprus time. As of yet, there was no information regarding the sailing date of the vessel.

It is reported that officials in Gaza Cyprus are screening aid charges on the island in a process which includes Israel, in an effort to eliminate security checks at destinations where aid is off-loaded.

In the wake of a long war, a ship towing a barge carrying almost 200 tonnes of food aid for Gaza left the island of Cyprus on Tuesday, charting a new course to reach a population that humanitarian agencies say is at risk of starvation due to the prolonged conflict.

Due to reasons of security, WCK, which is working with Emirates Humanitarian and Spanish charity Proactiva Open Arms with support from the Cypriot government, has decided not to disclose the details of the voyage.

WCF founder Jose Andres stated in a post on X late Wednesday that the charity is in the process of building a jetty in Gaza that was almost 60 metres long to receive aid from the world. On the Gaza shore, a bulldozer was visible in an unverified video uploaded to social media showing it reversed over a hard-packed rubble jetty that had been built.

As the WCF points out, its initiative is unrelated to the larger multinational effort to set up a maritime aid corridor that would link Gaza to the outside world.

Cyprus’ foreign minister Constantinos Kombos announced on Thursday that a high-level meeting aimed at coordinating the distribution of assistance in the future will be held in Nicosia on March 21.

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