Second shipment of aid for Gaza leaves Cyprus port
Asia
By
Xinhua
| Mar 31, 2024
A shipment of about 875 tons of food aid for Gaza residents left the port early on Saturday afternoon, semi-state Cyprus News Agency reported.
It said that the food, mostly flour, rice and sugar, was loaded aboard three vessels and one platform which were already outside the port and were heading to Gaza.
This is the second aid shipment of aid to Gaza from Larnaca since the Amalthea marine aid corridor was initiated on March 12. The aid will be unloaded at a makeshift pier constructed on the Gaza coast with rubble from bombed-out buildings.
READ MORE
Why Omtatah wants court to block Sh2.8tr railway works
Making agriculture 'cool' again: How to win the youth back into big farming
Alarming clause in Religious Organisations Bill threatens our democracy
Dispensaries to offer maternity services under SHA, says Barasa
Controversial Bill seeking to regulate churches put on hold
Wildlife census report key in increasing action
Champions Kabras Sugar out to extend Kenya Cup sweetness
MPs set to debate Bill outlawing detention of patients and bodies
Insurers caught flat-footed ahead of IRA's 24-hour cyber breach deadline
Ruto dreams of a 'new Singapore', but not when counties hold us back
Deputy government spokesman Yiannis Antoniou said ahead of the departure of the vessels that the cargo had already been inspected by the authorities of Cyprus, and necessary inspections had been carried out by the Israelis.
Under an agreement reached with Israel for the lifting of the 2007 sea blockade of Gaza, Israeli security agents were given the right to inspect aid items before loading at Larnaca port.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Thursday that more than 1.1 million people in the Gaza Strip are facing "an extreme level of food insecurity," as Israel prevents aid from entering the enclave.
Also on Thursday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague ordered Israel to do whatever is necessary to ensure that basic aid reaches the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip.
Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage.
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 32,705, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Saturday.