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The “Open Arms” leaves the port of Larnaka with the relief supplies

Photo: Yiannis Kourtoglou / REUTERS

The first ship carrying aid for the Gaza Strip left Cyprus this morning.

The freighter "Open Arms" left the port of the coastal city of Larnaka on Cyprus, a spokeswoman for the non-governmental organization Open Arms, which was involved in the delivery, told the AFP news agency.

After their arrival in the Gaza Strip, the relief supplies will be distributed by the NGO World Central Kitchen.

The ship's departure was delayed due to technical problems.

According to the Cypriot government in Nicosia, the ship, which is towing a cargo platform, is carrying around 200 tons of food, drinking water and medicine.

It is a test drive along the route of a planned aid corridor that EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulidis announced last Friday.

Von der Leyen had previously inspected the facilities in the port that the small EU republic provides for aid deliveries from various states and organizations.

Larnaca is around 400 kilometers from Gaza.

Experts estimate that the journey there will take at least 48 hours.

This route is not without danger: strong winds often blow in the eastern Mediterranean.

The “Open Arms” – a converted tug – pulls a platform behind it.

This is where most of the relief supplies are located.

The EU island republic of Cyprus will be responsible until the point the ship leaves Cypriot territorial waters.

"The ship will then be monitored by satellites and radars of other actors," the government spokesman told the dpa news agency.

On-site cargo unloading challenge

It is unclear where and how the ship will unload its cargo after arriving in the waters off the coast of the Gaza Strip.

Delivering the goods is considered a major challenge because there is only a small fishing port that is not deep enough for cargo ships.

The US military therefore wants to set up a temporary port together with international partners, but according to US information, its construction will take two months.

The humanitarian situation of the people in the Gaza Strip has been worsening dramatically for weeks.

The bare necessities are missing.

The Gaza war was triggered by a massacre carried out by terrorists from the Islamist Hamas and other extremist groups in southern Israel on October 7th.

On the Israeli side, more than 1,200 people were killed.

Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

On the Palestinian side, more than 31,000 people have been killed since the war began, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority.

The authority does not differentiate between civilians and Hamas fighters when it comes to the number of deaths.

czl/AFP/dpa