Egyptian authorities have begun unloading a Syrian ship laden with humanitarian aid supplies intended for the besieged population of the Gaza Strip, informed sources said on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the ship docked at the Mediterranean seaport of Arish, where Egyptian authorities took over responsibility for transporting its cargo overland to the Hamas-governed coastal enclave. Egypt shares a 14-kilometer border with the Gaza Strip.
The ship, bearing 650 tons of humanitarian aid including food and medicine, originally set sail from the Syrian port of Tartus.
According to one Egyptian official, 25 Syrian activists arrived in Arish on Tuesday to ensure that the cargo reached its intended destination.
The same official explained that some medical supplies would be taken across the border by the Syrian activists on Wednesday, with the rest of the cargo to be transported on Thursday by Egyptian authorities via the Egyptian-Israeli Al-Auja border crossing.
