Relief supplies for the Gaza Strip left Cyprus on a U.S. container ship Thursday morning, Cypriot officials said.
The U.S. vessel Sagamore, filled with aid from Britain, Cyprus and the United States, left the port of Larnaca, Cypriot government spokesperson Yiannis Antoniou said.
U.S. military engineers have been working to install a temporary pier on the Gaza coast to unload maritime aid deliveries. The project has experienced delays because of heavy seas off the coast, forcing builders to assemble the pier in the Israeli port of Ashdod.
"The platform is expected to be ready by the time the ship arrives in order for the aid to be unloaded and distributed to Palestinians in need," Antoniou said.
U.S. President Joe Biden ordered the construction of the platform in March.
Donor countries are trying to find other ways to send aid to Gaza. U.N. agencies warned that Israel’s restriction of deliveries could contribute to an emerging famine in Gaza.
Relief is desperately needed in Gaza after Israel ordered an evacuation of at least 100,000 Palestinians from Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, where most of the territory’s population has clustered.
Israel seized the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing on Tuesday, while shutting off the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing, drawing criticism from humanitarian groups. Israel said Wednesday that it had reopened Kerem Shalom.
The Israel-Hamas war was triggered by the October 7 Hamas terror attack on southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people and led to the capture of about 250 hostages, according to Israeli officials.
More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's offensive, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israel warned it could "deepen" its operation in Rafah if talks failed to secure the release of the hostages.
