Open Arms, the ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, departed the port of Larnaca in Cyprus on Tuesday morning local time (Mar. 12), at the beginning of Ramadan this year in the midst of the Israel-Hamas War.
According to World Central Kitchen (WCK), the non-profit organization organizing the supply run, it was the first civilian maritime shipment of humanitarian aid to the strip.
"After weeks of preparation, our team in Cyprus loaded almost 200 tons of food onto the Open Arms boat that will deliver the desperately-needed aid," the group said in a statement.
WCK said it had partnered with the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus, and the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms to coordinate the voyage.
(Photo: PROACTIVA OPEN ARMS/AFP via Getty Images)
Setting Sail for Gaza
According to CNN, the voyage came after announcements that Cyprus, the European Commission, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the UAE were working to establish a maritime corridor to deliver aid to Gaza.
It was earlier reported that Israel welcomed the sea deliveries and would inspect the cargo bound for Gaza before the ship left Cyprus.
The ship would tow a large barge packed with pallets of food aid, including rice, flour, beans, lentils, and canned meats. A temporary jetty would also be built in an undisclosed location in Gaza, though the details of those efforts are unclear.
On Sunday (Mar. 10), WCK Founder Jose Andres said that the jetty would be built with material and infrastructure in Gaza with the help of barges and amphibious vehicles. The pier would be built "with @openarms_fund serving as our logistics and command in the water...carrying the initial barge near the beach ... plus a big cargo boat for reloading," according to his post on X, formerly Twitter.
WCK added that it had served more than 35 million meals in Gaza since October and was working with almost 400 locally hired staff.
Related Article: Ramadan Dawns on Gaza's Desperate Struggle with Ceasefire, Hunger Crisis, Delayed Aid Relief
