Direct Aid via the Kuwait Society for Relief: “The Second Gaza Ship” sailed at dawn today from the port of Mersin towards the port of Al-Arish, carrying 1,000 tons of relief materials to support and relieve the residents of the Strip, with funding from donors from the Direct Aid Society.
The Kuwait Society for Relief announced at dawn today, from the Turkish province of Mersin, about the launch of the second Gaza ship loaded with basic relief materials and donations of essential humanitarian needs. The ship sails from the seaport of Mersin in Turkey towards the seaport of Al-Arish in Egypt in preparation for sending it into the Gaza Strip through the Rafah land crossing in the south of the Gaza Strip.
The Director General of the Kuwait Society for Relief, Abdulaziz Al-Obaid, said in a press statement at dawn today, shortly before the ship bid farewell from the port of Mersin that the ship will sail with about 1,000 tons of various basic and necessary relief materials. Most notably food, shelter, and personal hygiene care supplies.
Al-Obaid added that the ship’s cargo was divided between food, shelter, and personal hygiene supplies. The ship carried about 350 tons of ready-to-eat meals, flour, cooking supplies, and canned meals that are good for more than a year, along with about 600 tons of tents, blankets, mattresses, covers, personal hygiene care supplies, utensils, and personal supplies for women, children, and the elderly.
For his part, the Director General of the Direct Aid Society, Dr. Abdullah Al-Sumait, said that the cargo of (the second Gaza ship is scheduled to be unloaded after a few days in the Egyptian port of Al-Arish, then re-shipped and brought overland to the Gaza Strip through the Egyptian-Palestinian Rafah crossing south of the Strip.
Al-Sumait added that the second Gaza ship sails because of the donations of the “For Gaza” campaign launched by the Direct Aid Society, which came out of the historical responsibility, cultural ties, and strong feelings that unite the Kuwaiti people with Palestine and the Palestinians. The campaign aims primarily to alleviate the pain of the people of the Gaza Strip affected by the Israeli attacks by providing them with the necessary relief materials and urgent needs.
Al-Sumait praised the efforts made by the government ministries in the State of Kuwait, in particular the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Social Affairs, and the efforts of Kuwaiti charitable societies, led by Kuwait Society for Relief, the efforts of the Humanitarian Relief Foundation IHH, and those responsible for managing the Turkish and Egyptian ports for the speedy completion of all procedures of preparing the ship, loading it, managing it, and subsequently receiving and unloading it.
On the other hand, the Director General of the Humanitarian Relief Foundation IHH, Mr. Durmuş Aydin, said in a similar statement to KUNA that IHH is fulfilling today what it pledged and promised: aiming to cooperate with Kuwait Society for Relief in operating a loaded ship with the necessary relief materials for the people of the Gaza Strip. This includes IHH’s burden in accordance with the terms of the contract: purchasing goods valid for one year, packaging them, and shipping them from the port of Mersin, Turkey within the period stipulated in the terms of the contract.
Aydin added that IHH is morally and legally committed, according to the terms of the contract, to deliver the shipment the second Gaza ship to the port of Al-Arish in Egypt, in addition to its commitment to bear the cost and trouble of carrying out all the procedures and obtaining the necessary permits for the entire shipment to be exported from Turkey and delivered to Egypt, and to aid in the tasks of any oversight company, carrying out media documentation, aiding in the work of media professionals, and providing Direct Aid with all processing, shipping, and delivery reports.
It is noteworthy that the Humanitarian Relief Foundation IHH is one of the world’s leading relief agencies in reaching areas of war, conflict and natural disasters internationally to provide relief to victims and persecuted people, and to provide aid to the needy and the displaced.
Direct Aid, in coordination with the Kuwait Society for Relief, had signed an executive contract with IHH on March 12 to operate the relief ship, in which Direct Aid bore about 60% of the total cost of all stages of preparation, shipping, and dispatch.