Aid ship testing sea corridor from Cyprus to Gaza sets sail
Al Jazeera
Delivery will barely make a dent in Gaza’s starvation crisis, as Israel steps up attacks on aid seekers in the enclave.
An aid ship loaded with food has departed Cyprus heading for Gaza, after days of delay.
The Open Arms, owned by a charity of the same name, left Larnaca port early on Tuesday, towing a barge containing about 200 tonnes of flour, rice and protein. The voyage is a test of a planned sea corridor to carry aid to a population on the brink of starvation.
Mostly funded by the United Arab Emirates, the mission is organised by United States-based charity World Central Kitchen (WCK).
The 210 nautical mile (390km) voyage across the eastern Mediterranean to Gaza with a heavy tow barge could take up to two days, Cypriot officials have said.
Open Arms’ journey will test a planned sea corridor for getting aid into Gaza that was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides last Friday in Larnaca.
