NICOSIA, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus said on Saturday that it has dispatched a new shipment of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip as part of ongoing international relief efforts.

A total of 44 containers carrying approximately 950 tons of materials were loaded onto a merchant vessel at the southern port of Limassol on Friday, according to the Cypriot government. The ship is expected to arrive at Israel's port of Ashdod by the end of Saturday.

The shipment is part of a joint humanitarian initiative involving Cyprus, France, Slovakia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, and will be delivered to Gaza through the Amalthea maritime aid corridor. Israeli security authorities have already inspected the aid in Cyprus, a move expected to facilitate its swift onward transfer to Gaza without additional security checks, officials said.

Victor Papadopoulos, director of the Cypriot president's press office, said the aid consists mainly of food supplies and sanitation items. He noted that the shipment marked the fifth aid delivery dispatched from Cyprus since August, adding that additional aid routes are planned for January.

According to Papadopoulos, the total volume of humanitarian assistance sent to Gaza since the launch of the Cyprus' Amalthea aid initiative in March 2024 has reached approximately 30,000 tons. Enditem