The European Union hopes to launch an emergency maritime aid corridor from Cyprus to Gaza this weekend, citing the "dire" humanitarian situation in the enclave.
“We are now very close to the opening of the corridor, hopefully this Saturday, this Sunday, and I’m very glad to see that the initial pilot operation will be launched today,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Larnaca, Cyprus, on Friday speaking alongside Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.
She added that for that reason, "the European Commission, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, the Republic of Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States announce our intent to open a maritime corridor to deliver much-needed additional amounts of humanitarian assistance by sea.”
Israel has welcomed the international plan and urged other countries to join the initiative.
“The Cypriot initiative will allow the increase of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, after security checks are carried out in accordance with Israeli standards," Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat announced Friday on social media platform X.
Aid slows to a trickle: After the October 7 attacks, Israel put Gaza under siege. Getting any form of relief into Gaza is a long and arduous process, aid workers and the UN say, with the supplies that do get in are not enough to meet the needs of Gaza's population.
Israel maintains it is doing enough and there is "no limit" to the supplies that can be brought it.