The ship “Open Arms” continues its journey to Gaza on Wednesday, carrying humanitarian aid and is expected to arrive in the area tomorrow afternoon, according to information obtained by the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).
At the same time, teams from the Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and the UN Office for Programme Services (UNOPS) are in Cyprus to reinforce Cypriot experts.
The “Open Arms” departed on Tuesday around 0900 am from Larnaka Port bound for Gaza. The vessel is working with chef José Andrés from World Central Kitchen. The joint mission of Open Arms and WCKitchen set sail from Larnaka towards Gaza, carrying a substantial load of about 200 tons of food.
According to the same information, the ship continues its journey, everything is fine and no issue arose.
The weather is favourable and everything is going smoothly while the technical issues that may have been expected upon the ship’s arrival have been settled.
At the same time, today’s teleco
nference of the participants in the initiative for the maritime humanitarian corridor to Gaza, namely the Republic of Cyprus, the USA, Britain, the European Commission, the United Arab Emirates, is expected, according to the CNA information, to follow the declaration of intent, issued last Friday.
The videoconference, which takes place this afternoon, will be at the level of Foreign Ministers.
The Joint Statement from the European Commission, the Republic of Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and the United Kingdom endorsed the activation of the maritime corridor to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
It pointed out that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire, with innocent Palestinian families and children desperate for basic necessities.
According to the statement, Cyprus was expected to convene senior officials to discuss how the nations can accelerate this maritime channel, supporting those in need, supplementing land and air routes, including from Egypt and Jordan.
It is a
dded that the United States announced an emergency mission led by the US military to establish a temporary pier in Gaza, in coordination with humanitarian partners and other countries, to enable the delivery of significant quantities of assistance by sea. These efforts, the statement said, will be closely coordinated with the government of Israel.
Source: Cyprus News Agency