A ship carrying food from Cyprus for the Palestinians in Gaza is on its way, government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Saturday.
It is the first such shipment since an Israeli strike killed seven aid workers from the international food charity World Central Kitchen on April 1, according to Letymbiotis. The ship sailed on Friday night.
A statement issued by the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEB) earlier this week indicated that another shipment of aid to Gaza is imminent.
OEB has appealed to its members to contribute food for Gaza by Monday or Tuesday morning at the latest for dispatch to the Palestinian population.
OEB said it had received information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that humanitarian aid is being collected to be sent by sea to the civilian population of Gaza through the Amalthea Plan.
The Amalthea initiative, launched by Cyprus a few months ago, aims to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza through a maritime corridor via Cyprus.
Cypriot authorities halted the operation of the Amalthea sea corridor delivering aid to Gaza in the wake of the tragic deaths of the seven aid workers in the Israeli attack. ■
