Operation Safeena: WCK aid boat offloads in Gaza
World Central Kitchen’s team in Gaza offloaded almost 200 tons of desperately needed food that arrived on our first maritime aid shipment to the region. Carried on the Open Arms vessel, the cargo is part of Operation Safeena, our effort to bring as much aid as possible to Palestinians by sea. We have provided more than 37 million meals to families in war-torn Gaza by land, sea, and air since first responding to the conflict. The opening of this maritime corridor allows us to provide millions more meals.
Then Open Arms boat that transported the aid is back in Cyprus and its crew rejoined our team as we prepare to dispatch our next vessel with more food. This was the first boat to reach Gaza in almost two decades.
This first maritime shipment of food, including rice, flour, legumes, canned vegetables, and proteins, was organized alongside the United Arab Emirates and Cyprus. WCK teams built the jetty used to offload the aid so it can reach communities facing starvation as soon as possible.
Preparations are underway in Cyprus to dispatch a second boat carrying hundreds more tons of aid, along with heavy machinery to expedite the offloading process. The second vessel will be accompanied by a support boat that will assist with offloading. “I want us to build a highway of constantly flowing aid on the sea as just one more access point into Gaza that is so desperately needed,” said WCK CEO Erin Gore, who was recently on the ground in Cyprus.
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