A second cargo of food aid was ready to depart by sea from Cyprus to Gaza on Saturday, the island's president said, after a first aid shipment landed in the besieged Palestinian enclave overnight.
Almost 200 tons of food arrived in the enclave late on Friday, the first shipment in a new aid route to the Gaza Strip, devastated by five months of war.
"The first ship has started its return to Cyprus, and we are ready to dispatch the second ship," Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides told journalists.
The second ship, with 240 tons of aid, was moored at Larnaca port awaiting a signal to sail.
US based charity World Central Kitchen (WCK), which arranged the mission with the UAE and Spanish charity Open Arms with support from the Cypriot government, said the new shipment included pallets of canned goods and bulk products.