US ship sails from Greek Cypriot administration to Gaza with aid

LEFKOSA, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

US-flagged ship, Sagamore, loaded with humanitarian aid, departed Thursday from the port of Larnaca in the Greek Cypriot administration for the Gaza Strip, according to media reports.

Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister Konstantinos Kombos said the aid will be unloaded onto the floating pier built by the US off the coast of the besieged Palestinian enclave.

The Greek Cypriot administration announced in March that it created a sea corridor to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza with the support of many countries, including the EU and the US.

US President Joe Biden also announced the construction of a large floating pier off the Gazan coast to deliver humanitarian aid.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a Hamas attack in October, which killed less than 1,200 people.

More than 34,900 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and over 78,500 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

* Writing by Seda Sevencan​​​​​​​