The vehicle in which World Central Kitchen employees were killed in an Israeli raid in Gaza (Reuters)
Cypriot officials announced on Tuesday that aid transported by sea to the residents of Gaza had returned to Cyprus after the killing of 7 workers at the World Central Kitchen organization, while Reuters reported that the UAE had suspended sending humanitarian aid through the sea corridor from Cyprus.
This comes after the organization announced a temporary and immediate halt to its operations in Gaza, following the killing of members of its team in an Israeli air strike at dawn on Tuesday.
Staff from The Kitchen, a Washington-based organization, had just finished unloading 100 tons of food aid from a barge that had sailed from Cyprus when their convoy was subjected to an Israeli air strike overnight.
The battleship was one of 4 ships that sailed from Larnaca, Cyprus, on March 30. The ship Jennifer, which is still loaded with about 240 tons of food, was scheduled to return to Cyprus on Tuesday, along with the empty barge and a rescue boat, after the organization suspended its operations.
Monday's attack represents a serious setback for attempts to speed up the delivery of aid to Gaza, as international agencies say that many people are on the verge of starvation as a result of the Israeli attack.
The World Kitchen organization has been active in Gaza since October, working to bring in food supplies by land and also participating in airdrops.
Earlier this month, it launched the first sea corridor to transport aid to the Strip from Cyprus.
Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Koumpos said that the Cypriot authorities are communicating with the organization and that the Israeli attack occurred 12 kilometers from the area where aid arrived at a temporary dock established by the charity.
The Cypriot minister explained that relief workers had just finished a work period to unload aid at the time of the attack, and the unloading was supposed to resume early on Tuesday.
Cyprus played a pivotal role in establishing a sea route to Gaza by providing a quick security check on the island supervised by Israel. The organization received funding from the UAE for its marine food missions.
In a joint statement on Tuesday, the UAE and Cyprus expressed their “strong condemnation” of the Israeli strike.
In the same context, an Emirati official told Reuters today that Abu Dhabi has suspended sending humanitarian aid through a sea corridor from Cyprus to Gaza until it receives further safety guarantees from Israel and conducts a full investigation into the killing of aid workers in the Palestinian Strip.
The official, who requested anonymity, did not provide details about the safety guarantees that the UAE wants from Israel.
Source: Al Jazeera + Reuters