LARNACA, Cyprus (Reuters) – A sea convoy of undelivered food for Gaza returned to Cyprus on Wednesday after the killing of aid workers of World Central Kitchen (WCK) in an Israeli airstrike on Monday evening.
A cargo ship carrying 240 tonnes of food initially destined for the people of the beseiged Palestinian enclave sailed back to Larnaca in Cyprus following the deadly attack, dropping anchor just outside the port.
A second ship, the Open Arms owned by a Spanish NGO working with WCK, arrived earlier.
The undelivered aid was part of a consignment of about 340 tonnes sent to Gaza from Cyprus on March 30. The aid workers killed in Gaza had just finished work unloading 100 tonnes from a barge, also sent from Cyprus.
WCK, active in Gaza since October, has paused operations in the territory after the killings, and turned around its flotilla of ships back to Cyprus.
In March WCK launched an inaugural sea corridor transporting aid to the enclave from the east Mediterranean island.
Cyprus has offered to supplement aid getting in to Gaza by sea with a fast track on-island security screening process for aid overseen by Israel.
(Reporting by Yiannis Kourtoglou, writing by Michele Kambas, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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