The Open Arms ship did not finally set sail yesterday from the Cypriot port of Larnaca heading to the coast of the Gaza Strip as planned. The NGO told La Vanguardia yesterday afternoon that it has a “green light” from Israel but had yet to find “the right moment” due to the weather and some things to do, but “the cargo is inspected” by the Israeli authorities in Cyprus and found on board the ship.

This is 200 tons of food prepared by World Central Kitchen, the organization of chef José Andrés, the initiator of the project and who has also taken care of a fundamental logistical aspect. In Gaza there is only a small fishing pier, in the northern part of the coast, near the old center of Gaza City, but “it is not operational” due to Israeli bombings, Óscar Camps, founder, told this newspaper. by Open Arms. A team from José Andrés accessed the Strip by land and is building, with a Palestinian contractor, a breakwater to unload, using precisely “debris from the bombings.” The breakwater is important because the draft is not even known, and one can also imagine that it would allow an orderly unloading, something necessary given the desperate state of the Gazans. The rest of the coast is beach.

In the two months since the project was launched, José Andrés has negotiated at least with Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (it is possible that the latter, which maintain very good relations with Israel, will provide a ship in the future) and, of course, Cyprus, which is today the bridgehead of what could be a European humanitarian corridor.

But for now the Open Arms is the only boat that will make the crossing, of about 200 miles, at very low speed due to the load. Óscar Camps estimated two days of navigation.

Lior Haiat, spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, published on Friday on the social network X that “Israel welcomes the inauguration of the maritime corridor from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip. “The Cypriot initiative will allow for increased humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, after security checks are carried out in accordance with Israeli standards.” These controls would have already been carried out, but, when asked about them yesterday, and according to the Efe agency, the Cypriot Foreign Minister, Constantinos Kombos, said that “there are too many elements, so no one can say that there is no problem.” , because we move in a war zone.” “There may be malicious actions on the part of some people,” said the minister, who warned that “there are too many things that cannot be predicted.”

If the Israeli spokesperson pointed out in his message that “it is very important that more countries join the Cypriot initiative and the international effort to transfer aid” – ignoring that Israel, as an occupying force, is responsible for the lives of Gazans in all aspects – it is another matter when it comes to UNRWA. In another message, Lior Haiat described Sweden and Canada’s decision to continue funding the UN agency for Palestinian refugees as a “mistake.”

The head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, yesterday declared himself “cautiously” optimistic that some donor countries will return to funding it in a few weeks, warning that the agency is “at risk of death” after Israel alleged that part of its personnel participated in the October 7 Hamas attack.

Under former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, an investigation has been launched and its final report is expected to be published next month. Without the agency for Palestinian refugees, Gaza would be left without regulated assistance and at the expense of the various budgets and programs of other UN agencies, and even the goodwill of governments. The United States and Great Britain, among a total of 16 countries, suspended their contributions to UNRWA; Sweden announced yesterday 20 million euros, Canada did not specify and Spain has contributed 3.5 million, as announced days ago by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares.

Yesterday there were at least 82 deaths in Israeli attacks in Gaza, bringing the total to 30,960, according to its Ministry of Health. The total number of injuries is 72,524 and there are almost 8,000 bodies under the rubble. Just yesterday, three more babies died at the Al Shifa hospital due to malnutrition and dehydration, bringing the total to 23, the Efe news agency reported.

In Rafah, a bombing against the 12-story Al Masri residential tower forced all residents to evacuate, resulting in several injuries.