Led by the European Union (EU), a maritime aid corridor could begin operating this weekend between Cyprus and Gaza, as part of accelerating Western efforts to ease the humanitarian crisis in the enclave ravaged by war.
Traveling to Cyprus on Friday, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that a test of food aid collected by an NGO would be carried out.
“We are launching this Cyprus maritime corridor together, with the European Union, Great Britain, the United Arab Emirates and the United States,” she said after visiting the facilities in Larnaca, located 370 km away. bird's eye view of the Gaza coast.
“We are now close to opening that corridor, hopefully on Saturday or Sunday.”
A shipment of 200 pallets of food was to be shipped by the American charity World Central Kitchen at the same time.
A boat “ready to embark at any time”
“Our tugboat is ready to embark at any time, loaded with tons of food, water and vital supplies for Palestinian civilians,” supported the Spanish NGO Open Arms, which made a boat available for the operation .
3 weeks ago, the #OpenArms ship, in collaboration with @WCK, docked in Cyprus for a joint mission.
What initially appeared as an insurmountable challenge is now on the verge of realization.
The effort to establish a humanitarian maritime corridor in #Gaza is making progress,… pic.twitter.com/njaOxGZtnn
— Open Arms ENG (@openarms_found) March 8, 2024
Cyprus, the closest EU member state to Gaza, has been pushing for months to launch the corridor, but has faced difficulties ranging from a lack of port infrastructure in Gaza to security concerns.
The Gaza Strip has been subject to an Israeli naval blockade since 2007, when the Islamist Hamas movement took control following the last elections held there.
In January, the Cypriot government tested a cargo control mechanism when British and Cypriot aid intended for Gaza was sent to Egypt;
he hopes that Israel will send officials to conduct the inspections.
Road crossings, a “simpler way”?
On Thursday, US President Joe Biden announced plans to order the US military to build a "temporary pier" on Gaza's Mediterranean coast.
But as the situation grows more desperate, Pentagon spokesman Air Force Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said planning for the temporary port system is just that. 'at its beginnings and that it would take "probably up to 60 days", involving a thousand soldiers who would not touch Gazan soil.
“There is a simpler and more efficient way to deliver aid, and that is via the road crossings that connect Israel to Gaza,” said Juliette Touma, spokesperson for UNRWA, the aid agency. United Nations emergency response for the Palestinians.
Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, told reporters in Geneva that it was "absurd" for Washington to discuss complicated new routes to reach territory blocked by its own ally.
“From a humanitarian point of view, from an international point of view, from a human rights point of view, it is absurd, dark and cynical,” he lamented.
Packages dropped
“The maritime corridor can make a real difference… but, at the same time, our efforts to provide assistance to the Palestinians through all possible channels will of course continue,” von der Leyen argued.
Also read: Why is it so difficult to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip?
Israel says it is not blocking aid through two checkpoints on Gaza's southern edge, and accuses the UN and other agencies of failing to transport and deliver enough aid.
Humanitarian agencies say this is almost impossible in a war zone and that Israel is responsible for ensuring safe access.
For several days, the United States and other countries, such as Jordan and France, have been carrying out airdrops of food aid to the Gaza Strip.
On Friday, five people were killed and ten others injured by falling humanitarian aid packages dropped on Gaza city.
VIDEO.
Gaza: five people killed by humanitarian aid drop
“When the planes started dropping the cargo, me and my brother went to the area in the hope of recovering a bag of flour,” Mohammed al-Ghoul, a 50-year-old man told AFP. in the al-Shati refugee camp.
“But the parachute did not open and the cargo fell like a rocket on the roof of one of the houses,” he explained, indicating that he then saw people carrying three bodies and saw injured people among the people who had gathered on the roof of the building to try to get help.