Israel-Hamas war: Humanitarian maritime corridor between Cyprus and Gaza operational this weekend?

The president of the European Commission said this Friday that she hoped for the implementation of a maritime corridor later this week that would make it possible to transport humanitarian aid from Cyprus to the population of the Gaza Strip who desperately need it.

Visiting the Cypriot port of Larnaca, Ursula von der Leyen clarified that a boat carrying experimental aid collected by a charity with the support of the United Arab Emirates could set sail as early as this Friday.

“We are launching this maritime corridor in Cyprus together with the European Union, the United Arab Emirates and the United States,” she said.

“The European Union has allocated 250 million euros in humanitarian aid this year alone, but the main challenge is getting this aid to Gaza,” she added.

“We continue to call on Israel to allow more trucks”

“We are going to open this corridor, we hope it will be on Saturday or Sunday, and I am very happy to see that a pilot project will be launched today,” Ursula von der Leyen said alongside Cypriot President Nicos Christodoulides.

The head of British diplomacy, David Cameron, also said that he is actively working to open this humanitarian corridor as quickly as possible in coordination with the United States and the European Union.

“We continue to call on Israel to allow more trucks into Gaza because this is the fastest way to get aid to those who need it,” he added on social media. .

Cyprus believes that three main factors argue in favor of this plan: the geographical proximity of the island nation to the enclave, the availability of the necessary infrastructure to receive goods, and strategic relations with neighboring countries.