Safeena’s humanitarian mission reaches its destination
The Safeena mission, which means ‘boat’ in Arabic, has been launched by Word Central Kitchen (WCK), the organization of renowned Spanish chef José Andrés, and by the NGO Open Arms. The objective of this mission is to open a sea corridor to Gaza to provide humanitarian aid. Currently, the ship is near the Strip and it is expected that the disembarkation of the necessary supplies will begin in the next few hours.
Open Arms’ journey to Gaza
The Open Arms ship left the port of Larnaca in Cyprus last Monday, loaded with 200 tons of non-perishable food such as flour, rice, legumes and tuna. This mission is the first of its kind since the start of the Israeli offensive in the Strip, after the Hamas attacks on October 7. The collaboration of the Government of Cyprus has been essential to coordinate diplomatic efforts and open a maritime corridor to Gaza.
Challenges and conditions of the mission
The cargo landing operation in Gaza has been very complex due to the conditions imposed by the Israeli authorities. One of these conditions is that the crew of the Open Arms ship have no contact with the local population. In addition, the cargo was subjected to controls by the military agency COGAT in Cyprus. Despite these challenges, the mission has been planned for months and is expected to go off without a hitch.
The impact of the Safeena mission
The Safeena mission aims to open a humanitarian corridor to Gaza and demonstrate that it is possible to deliver aid through sea routes even before construction of a floating dock proposed by the United States is completed. This initiative seeks to encourage more organizations to join the humanitarian corridor and provide assistance to the population in need. Additionally, it is expected that the floating dock can provide millions of meals and bottles of water once it is operational.
