Cyprus said Saturday it has dispatched a new shipment of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip as part of ongoing international relief efforts.
The government said 44 containers carrying about 950 tons of supplies were loaded Friday onto a merchant vessel at the southern port of Limassol. The ship is expected to reach Israel’s port of Ashdod by the end of Saturday.
The shipment is part of a joint initiative involving Cyprus, France, Slovakia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, and will be delivered to Gaza through the Amalthea maritime aid corridor. Israeli security authorities inspected the cargo in Cyprus, a step officials said should allow the aid to move quickly into Gaza without further checks.
Victor Papadopoulos, director of the Cypriot president’s press office, said the shipment consists mainly of food and sanitation items. He said it was the fifth aid delivery sent from Cyprus since August, with additional routes planned for January.
Papadopoulos said Cyprus has sent roughly 30,000 tons of humanitarian assistance to Gaza since launching the Amalthea initiative in March 2024.