The Second Ship Carrying 400 Tons of Food Aid Departed from Cyprus to Gaza

The second ship carrying 400 tons of food aid for civilians residing in Gaza departed from the port of Larnaca in Cyprus on Saturday, April 1. Cypriot officials, in coordination with the Israeli government, have established this maritime route to facilitate the delivery of food aid to the residents of Gaza. The American charity 'World Central Kitchen,' in collaboration with the Spanish charity 'Open Arms' and primarily funded by the United Arab Emirates with support from Cyprus, organized this mission. The first ship carrying 200 tons of humanitarian aid arrived at the shores of Gaza on March 16 of the previous year and was unloaded via a temporary dock. In addition to the 400 tons of food aid sent on Saturday, two forklifts and a crane were also sent to assist with future missions to Gaza. The United States plans to construct a floating dock near the shores of Gaza to facilitate the unloading of aid. Nikos Christodoulides, the President of Cyprus, announced late on Friday, March 31, that although the completion date for this dock was set for April 1, it may be ready by April 16. Meanwhile, the U.S. military, under the orders of President Joe Biden, has been conducting airlift operations to assist the residents of Gaza since March 1 of the previous year, delivering hundreds of thousands of meals to civilians in the densely populated strip. The United States has repeatedly asked Israel to allow more humanitarian aid to be sent to Gaza in recent months. Israel has stated that it agrees to send aid but insists that it must be inspected before entry and should not fall into the hands of Hamas. The United Nations has warned of an impending famine for 300,000 Palestinians living in northern Gaza. According to UN estimates, famine may affect half of the 2.3 million residents of Gaza by early summer this year.