Photo : Collected
The United Kingdom has sent a Royal Navy ship to the Eastern Mediterranean to facilitate humanitarian aid delivery to the Gaza Strip, UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said.
"A Royal Navy ship is now en-route to the Eastern Mediterranean to support international efforts to get life-saving aid to Gaza," Shapps said in a statement published by the UK government on Saturday (6 April).
The ship deployment is expected to facilitate the establishment of an international humanitarian maritime corridor from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip and will start operations in early May, the statement read. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has allocated 9.7 million pounds sterling ($12.3 million) for the humanitarian deliveries to the conflict-torn enclave, the statement said.
"As well as the Royal Navy ship from the Ministry of Defence, the FCDO is also committing up to £9.7 million for aid deliveries; logistical expertise and equipment support to the corridor, such as forklift trucks and storage units; and expertise, to maximise the levels of aid reaching those people who desperately need it," the statement added.
In October 2023, Cyprus proposed creating a maritime corridor to deliver aid to Gaza. The first ship left the port of Larnaca on March 12 and arrived in Gaza on March 15.
Messenger/Mumu
