A ship loaded with 200 metric tons of food aid is ready to depart the Cyprus port of Larnaca, bound for Gaza but awaiting final clearance as a pilot run for a maritime aid corridor for the embattled enclave, Agence France-Presse reported late Saturday.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Central Command said the U.S. Army has sent a shipment of equipment to set up a temporary pier to deliver aid to Gaza, days after President Joe Biden announced the effort.
The food aid ship is owned by the Spanish nongovernmental aid organization Open Arms. In an interview with The Associated Press, the group’s founder, Oscar Camps, said the pilot aid shipment is a joint project between it and World Central Kitchen, a food aid group founded by chef Jose Andres.
AFP reported that Open Arms said the boat was ready to leave but was awaiting final authorization. The group’s spokesperson, Laura Lanuza, told AFP that Israeli authorities were inspecting the cargo.
The opening of a maritime aid corridor is a joint project of the European Commission, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, the Republic of Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, and the United States.
The food, once offloaded, will be distributed by the World Central Kitchen at 60 locations it has established in Gaza.
A spokesperson for Open Arms told AFP the ship will depart Cyprus once it has "all the authorizations and permits" required.
Observers suggest the opening of the maritime corridor — along with the recent inauguration of airdrops of aid that continued Saturday — are signs of increasing frustration with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and a new international willingness to work around Israeli restrictions.
In a statement on his X social media account, formerly Twitter, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat said Israel welcomes the inauguration of the maritime corridor from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip. "The Cypriot initiative will allow the increase of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, after security checks are carried out in accordance with Israeli standards."
Biden said in his State of the Union speech Thursday that the U.S. military would establish a "temporary pier" off the coast of Gaza to help deliver aid to the region.
CENTCOM said the General Frank S. Besson departed Joint Base Langley-Eustis in the U.S. state of Virginia "less than 36 hours after President Biden announced the U.S. would provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea."
The U.S. military said the temporary pier could take up to 60 days to construct. In his AP interview, Camps said in the initial shipment, the World Central Kitchen is building a temporary pier of its own at an undisclosed location in Gaza.
Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
