A ship that departed from Cyprus carrying approximately 1,200 tons of humanitarian aid for Gaza is approaching Ashdod port. The vessel carries 52 containers that include food such as pasta, rice, baby food and canned goods. Israeli teams inspected the packages at Limassol port before sailing. About 700 tons of the aid originated in Cyprus, funded by the United Arab Emirates, and the rest comes from Italy, the government of Malta, a Catholic organization from Malta and a non-governmental organization from Kuwait. Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos told the AP news agency that "the situation is beyond terrible."