Limassol (Cyprus), August 19 (LaPresse) – A ship carrying 1,200 tons of food supplies for the Gaza Strip has departed from Cyprus. The vessel, sailing under the Panamanian flag, is headed to the Israeli port of Ashdod and is transporting 52 containers filled with aid such as pasta, rice, baby food, and canned goods.
Israeli customs officials inspected the cargo at the Cypriot port of Limassol, from where the ship departed. Around 700 tons of the aid come from Cyprus, purchased with funds donated by the United Arab Emirates to the so-called Amalthea Fund, established last year for donors wishing to contribute to sea-based aid deliveries.
The remaining supplies come from Italy, the Maltese government, a Catholic religious order from Malta, and the Kuwaiti NGO Al Salam Association. Last year, Cyprus served as a transit point for the delivery of 22,000 tons of aid sent directly to Gaza by sea, through a pier operated by the international charity World Central Kitchen and a docking structure managed by the U.S. military known as the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore system.
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