UAE, World Central Kitchen complete food delivery to Gaza by sea

The UAE and the World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid organisation have announced the successful completion of the delivery of food aid to Gaza by sea.

The mission – Operation Safeena – in partnership with the non-governmental organisation Open Arms, departed from Cyprus and docked just off the coast of Gaza recently, marking the first maritime delivery of food aid to Gaza.

The aid was delivered to Northern Gaza this morning in cooperation with a World Food Programme convoy, that also carried a load of WCK ready-to-eat meals.

"Bringing food by sea to Gaza is a critical and long overdue step. Food and water are a universal right. The dire humanitarian situation in Gaza requires a massive response – including by sea, air and land," said Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation, and Erin Gore, CEO of World Central Kitchen.

"We are pursuing additional maritime food aid deliveries and look forward to working with the international community to do all that is possible to urgently address this challenge," they added.

United Arab Emirates and World Central Kitchen Complete Food Delivery to Northern Gaza; Aid brought to Gaza by Sea in Historic Firsthttps://t.co/zGKMiFkexk

— MoFA وزارة الخارجية (@mofauae) March 19, 2024

This first maritime delivery carried almost 200 tonnes of rice, flour and proteins. Another 240 tonnes of food aid are ready for a second sailing to Gaza from the Larnaca port in Cyprus.

Since October, WCK and partners have served over 39 million meals in Gaza and are constantly adapting to meet the various challenges and needs, with WCK’s efforts accounting for more than 60 per cent of all NGO-provided humanitarian aid in Gaza.

To date, the UAE has delivered 21,000 tonnes of urgent supplies, including food, water and medical items, dispatched through 216 flights, 10 airdrops, 964 trucks and two ships.