Seaborne aid for the population of Gaza is returning to Cyprus following the killing of seven aid workers of World Central Kitchen, Cypriot officials said on Tuesday, after the US-based charity said it would pause work in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
World Central Kitchen (WCK) staff had just finished offloading 100 tons of food aid from a barge that sailed from Cyprus when their vehicle convoy was attacked overnight Monday in an Israeli airstrike.
The barge was part of a four-vessel flotilla that set sail from Larnaca, Cyprus, on March 30. Another vessel still loaded with 240 tonnes of food, the Jennifer, was heading back to Cyprus on Tuesday with the empty barge, a salvage boat, and a tugboat after WCK suspended operations.
"They only managed to offload the barge," a Cypriot official told Reuters. One-third (of the aid cargo) was delivered, and two-thirds are coming back."
Monday's attack was a severe setback in attempts to expedite aid into Gaza, where international agencies say many are on the verge of famine as a result of the Israeli assault.
"The tragic events must not discourage us. We need to double down on efforts to get aid to Gaza," Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said after a meeting with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.
WCK has been active in Gaza since start of war
WCK has been active in Gaza since October, bringing food by land routes and participating in airdrops.
In March, it launched an inaugural sea corridor transporting aid to the enclave from Cyprus.
Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said Cypriot authorities had contacted WCK. They said the strike occurred 12 km (7 miles) from the aid landing area—a makeshift jetty created by the charity.
The Cypriot minister said that the aid workers had just ended a shift halfway through the offloading process, which was supposed to resume early Tuesday.
"This has now been frozen, and since WCK has made the announcement, they will be leaving the area to come back, regroup, and assess the next steps," Kombos said.
Cyprus had played a pivotal role in establishing a maritime route to Gaza by offering a fast-track on-island security screening process overseen by Israel. WCK had received funding from the UAE for its maritime food missions.
In a joint statement on Tuesday, the UAE and Cyprus expressed "profound condemnation" over Israel's strike.