First aid ship reaches Gaza shores

GAZA CITY, Palestine

A ship with desperately needed food supplies reached the coast of Gaza on Friday, witnesses said, three days after it sailed from the Greek Cypriot administration’s Larnaca port.

The Open Arms towed a barge with 200 tons of food provided by the US-based World Central Kitchen charity.

The aid mission, named Operation Safeena, aims to inaugurate a maritime aid corridor proposed by the Greek Cypriot administration, and supported by the UK, US and EU.

There was no information available about mechanism for unloading the ship’s cargo and distributing it to the Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip.

Israel started its war on Gaza after the Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border incursion by Hamas. It has since killed more than 31,000 Palestinians and pushed the territory to the brink of famine, besides causing mass destruction and displacement.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

The US has separately announced to build a temporary dock on the Gaza shoreline to allow delivery of humanitarian aid on a large scale.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi