The Spanish vessel Open Arm has departed from the port of Larnaca in Cyprus en route to the Gaza Strip. It carries "200 tonnes of basic foodstuffs, rice, flour, cans of tuna."
The United Arab Emirates provided a significant portion of the funding for this mission, which is organized in collaboration with the American charitable organization World Central Kitchen.
"Our goal is to establish a maritime highway of boats and barges stocked with millions of meals continuously headed towards Gaza," the World Central Kitchen statement reads. An additional 500 tons of food collected by the organization are expected to be delivered to the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli authorities have coordinated the delivery of humanitarian cargo to Gaza by sea. Israeli representatives in Cyprus will inspect all cargoes and vessels before they are allowed to be shipped to the Gaza Strip.
