Aid ship 'Open Arms' reaches Gaza coast

The first ship carrying food aid reached the coast of the Gaza Strip on Friday, as part of a pilot project to open a sea route to deliver life-saving supplies to Palestinians facing starvation in the enclave.

The Open Arms vessel, carrying 200 tonnes of food, could be seen in the distance off the beach of the coastal strip, where it had been towed from Cyprus.

The charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) aims to deliver the aid on a temporary jetty, though precise details of how supplies would reach shore have not been made clear.

The shipment acted as a test for the sea route arranged by the UAE, US, EU, UK and Cyprus.

If the new sea route is successful, it may help to ease the hunger crisis affecting Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people face malnourishment and hospitals in the worst-stricken northern areas have reported children dying of starvation.

However, aid agencies have repeatedly said that plans to bring in aid by sea and through air drops will not be enough to satisfy the territory's vast needs.

🔴 #BREAKING🔴
The #OpenArms boat in joint mission with @WCKitchen is already off the coast of #Gaza, after 72 hours of sailing from Larnaca, Cyprus.
We are the first ship to open this humanitarian maritime corridor that will allow the entry of food to alleviate the extreme… https://t.co/A5o5cQurjI

— Open Arms ENG (@openarms_found) March 15, 2024