First aid ship via Cyprus maritime corridor reaches Gaza

A ship, manned by the Spanish aid organization Open Arms, is seen off the shore of central Gaza Strip, on March 15, 2024. The first aid ship, traveling through the Cyprus-Gaza humanitarian maritime corridor, reached the coast of the Palestinian enclave on Friday and began offloading its cargo, Palestinian sources said. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)

GAZA, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The first aid ship, traveling through the Cyprus-Gaza humanitarian maritime corridor, reached the coast of the Palestinian enclave on Friday and began offloading its cargo, Palestinian sources said.

The 200 tonnes of humanitarian aid onboard the ship was received by workers with the World Central Kitchen (WCK), who who will facilitate its distribution to the local population grappling with severe food shortages, the sources told Xinhua.

"Our team in Gaza is offloading desperately needed food from our first maritime aid shipment under Operation Safeena", WCK said in a statement, adding a crane also arrived at the Gazan coast to expedite the transfer of aid from the ship to delivery trucks.

The vessel, manned by the Spanish aid organization Open Arms, left Cyprus on Tuesday. 

A ship, manned by the Spanish aid organization Open Arms, is seen off the shore of central Gaza Strip, on March 15, 2024. The first aid ship, traveling through the Cyprus-Gaza humanitarian maritime corridor, reached the coast of the Palestinian enclave on Friday and began offloading its cargo, Palestinian sources said. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

A ship, manned by the Spanish aid organization Open Arms, is seen off the shore of central Gaza Strip, on March 15, 2024. The first aid ship, traveling through the Cyprus-Gaza humanitarian maritime corridor, reached the coast of the Palestinian enclave on Friday and began offloading its cargo, Palestinian sources said. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

A ship, manned by the Spanish aid organization Open Arms, is seen off the shore of central Gaza Strip, on March 15, 2024. The first aid ship, traveling through the Cyprus-Gaza humanitarian maritime corridor, reached the coast of the Palestinian enclave on Friday and began offloading its cargo, Palestinian sources said. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)