WASHINGTON— On Tuesday, the non-profit organization
World Central Kitchen (WCK) announced the departure of the rescue ship ‘Open
Arms,’ loaded with 200 tonnes of food supplies primarily funded by the UAE,
from Cyprus.
اضافة اعلان
The supplies for the ship came from the
organization headquartered in Washington, DC, which collaborates with the
Spanish non-governmental organization, Proactiva Open Arms (POA), Al-Mamlaka TV
reported.
WCK also highlighted that it has commenced the
construction of a marine dock in the Gaza Strip in collaboration with its
partners to facilitate aid ship reception. This initiative, which began on
Sunday, precedes the creation of a 'maritime highway' intended for the weekly
delivery of food to the strip.
WCK noted the complexity of the maritime
operation, stating that timing of departure and full logistical information are
currently unavailable.
Cyprus
explained that shipments undergo security inspection there, including by
Israeli teams, eliminating the need for inspection at the final discharge point
to remove potential obstacles in aid delivery.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP),
"This trip is separate from the US project to build the floating dock.”
Notably, the US Army sent a logistics ship
carrying equipment following President Joe Biden's announcement of building a
temporary dock to facilitate aid delivery.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant inspected
ongoing preparations for building a floating marine dock carrying equipment
from a US support ship that sailed from the US; the construction process is
expected to take 60 days.
More
than 34 million meals
WCK has another 500 tonnes of aid in Cyprus
ready for future sea transport, having provided over 34 million meals to Gaza
since October 2023 and operating over 60 community kitchens there.
Additionally, It sent more than 1400 trucks
through the Rafah Crossing and employed approximately 400 Palestinians to work
with it in the strip.
Amid the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza and
increasing warnings of famine, European Commission President Ursula von der
Leyen expressed hope to open a maritime corridor from the Cypriot port of
Larnaca to Gaza on Sunday.
However, relief organizations and UN officials
confirmed that facilitating truck entry would be more effective than delivering
them by sea.
The UN World Food Program (WFP) warned that
delivering aid by sea will not sufficiently mitigate the risk of famine.
According to the UN, 2.2 million people, the vast majority of Gaza's
population, are at risk of famine due to a severe shortage of food and drinking
water.
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