A ship belonging to the Catalan non-governmental organization Open Arms sailed to the coast of the Gaza Strip and unloaded 200 tons of food, which can be used to prepare 500,000 meals.
This was announced by the organization World Central Kitchen (WCK), which sent the food.
“WCK is unloading packages of desperately needed food that arrived via our first sea shipment to Gaza as part of Operation Safeena,” WCK, founded by Spanish chef Jose Andres, announced.
It is our international effort to deliver as much aid as possible to the Palestinians, he added.
Open Arms explained that the shipment consisted of “flour, rice, peas, beans, tuna and other staples”.
“We will never forget this moment. This is history,” the organization said.
The packages were moved from the ship to 12 WCK trucks, the Israeli army announced.
“The ship and cargo were thoroughly searched for security reasons,” the military said in a statement.
No incidents so far.
During five months, the Israeli army killed 31,400 Palestinian civilians and wounded 73,400, of which 72 percent were women and children, according to the United Nations. The Gaza Strip is under siege, and the Israeli army does not allow journalists to enter.
“The delivery of this humanitarian aid will not affect the blockade of the enclave,” the Israeli army said, claiming that it is fighting the militant Hamas movement there.
For the first time since the attack on the Gaza Strip in October, the army allowed humanitarian aid to enter by sea. The situation is similar at land border crossings, which has led to hunger and disease. The Open Arms ship arrived from the Cypriot port of Larnaca, where another ship with 400 tons of food is preparing to depart, Hina news agency writes.
