Initial publication: Cyprus and Israel have begun promoting an initiative to establish a humanitarian corridor between the island and the Gaza Strip, through which the necessary aid will be transferred to Gaza residents from around the world. If built, the corridor will replace the Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings, so that civilian supplies will no longer be transferred from Israel to Gaza, both during and after the fighting.
The proposal to establish a humanitarian corridor was initiated by the Cypriots and was discussed today at a meeting of the foreign ministers of the two countries, Eli Cohen and Dr. Konstantinos Kombos, who came to Israel for a solidarity meeting. The two agreed to establish working groups to examine the initiative in depth, with the aim of bringing about its future implementation.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Cypriot Foreign Minister Konstantinos Kombos, photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
According to the proposal, Cyprus will allocate a designated area in the Larnaca Port area to which all humanitarian supplies to Gaza will be routed, such as water, food, medicine, etc. After the products are inspected by Israel, they will be sent on ships to Gaza, while it is not yet clear where the supplies will be received. Among the options offered were: receiving the goods from the small port in Gaza, placing the goods on the shore or transferring the goods to the port of Arish in Egypt and from there to Israel.
Earlier this week, senior officials in the Foreign Ministry, the IDF, the Shin Bet and other officials held a discussion to examine the various aspects of the proposal, which can address the humanitarian issue but whose implementation is very complex. A political source told Israel Hayom that "the Cypriot proposal is welcome, but its various components must be discussed in order to ensure that the corridor is secure for security and that at the end of the road, the supply reaches the right hands inside the Gaza Strip."
It should be noted that family members of abductees participated in the conversation between the two.
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