The mission would represent the first breach in the Israeli-imposed naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The food-laden ship was set to leave the Cypriot port of Larnaca for the Gaza Strip this Sunday, inaugurating a sea link to deliver aid to the Palestinian enclave, where more than a quarter of the population is at risk of famine, according to the United. nations.
The Open Arms Rescue Ship, from the Spanish NGO of the same name, will haul 200 tonnes of food, which will be financed largely by the United Arab Emirates.
The food is provided by the American NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK), which says it has another 500 tons of food stored in Cyprus for future missions.
The pilot project, backed by the European Union, plans to deliver aid directly to the Palestinian territory, cut off from the world by an offensive launched by Israel in retaliation for a Hamas attack on October 7.
370 km
Cypriot President Nicos Christodoulides, whose government has been pleading for months in favor of building a maritime corridor between the island and Gaza, some 370km apart, signaled on Saturday evening that the ship would leave “in the next 24 hours”. .
If successful, the mission would represent the first breach in the naval blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip since the territory came under Hamas control in 2007.
Due to the lack of port infrastructure in Gaza, the NGO WCK plans to build piers using materials from the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombing.
The shipment will be inspected by a team including Israeli officials prior to its departure from Cyprus, to ensure that aid is not impeded upon arrival at its destination.
