War in Gaza: a first ship bringing aid to the Palestinian territory leaves Cyprus
A first boat using a maritime corridor between Cyprus and the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory on the verge of famine left the Cypriot port of Larnaca on Tuesday morning, one of the two told AFP. NGO responsible for this operation.
The ship of the Spanish NGO Open Arms (our photo) “left” around 6:50 a.m. UT on March 12, 2024 towards Gaza.
AP - Petros Karadjias
By: RFI Follow
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The ship of the Spanish NGO Open Arms, carrying food to be distributed in
Gaza
by the organization of the Spanish-American chef José Andrés, World Central Kitchen, "
left
" around 6:50 a.m. UT on March 12, declared to the Agence France Presse, Laura Lanuza, spokesperson for Open Arms.
This boat, called
Open Arms
, the same name as the NGO that operates it, is usually used to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean.
It must carry with it a floating platform device to enable the disembarkation of humanitarian aid once it arrives in Gaza as there is no operational port in the enclave.
The ship should take two days to complete the 370 km that separate Larnaca from Gaza.
This boat is carrying around 200 tonnes of food (rice, flour, canned goods, etc.) which must be distributed in Gaza by the organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) of the Spanish-American chef José Andrés, who has already had teams in Gaza since the start of the war, writes AFP.
A test for Cyprus, a hope for Gaza
The President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, was personally involved in the establishment of this humanitarian corridor, says our special correspondent in Cyprus,
Sophie Guignon
.
It is a test for Cyprus, a small state in the eastern Mediterranean, which joined the European Union in 2004 and which finds itself at the heart of international attention in one of the most serious humanitarian crises in recent times. decades.
However, this maritime humanitarian corridor option to Gaza - although laudable - will be less effective than road transport.
Hundreds of trucks are waiting to enter the Gaza Strip
via
Rafah in Egypt or through the Kerem Shalom crossing point.
Israel, which has been besieging the enclave since October 9, 2023, is only letting in aid in trickles.
As a result, many experts in the delivery of humanitarian aid agree that this maritime humanitarian corridor will be hard-pressed to prevent a famine in Gaza.
Read alsoGaza: a first boat expected from Cyprus, the hope of a maritime corridor to deliver aid
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