President Christodoulides confirmed on Tuesday that Cyprus is prepared to dispatch a vessel loaded with humanitarian aid from Larnaca to Gaza as part of the “Amalthea” initiative.
However, authorities are awaiting final approval from the United States, he explained.
Speaking to journalists during an Easter visit to a military camp, the President indicated the US expects to complete a floating dock on May 2. He plans to discuss the matter with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“We have been doing all the preparatory work, in particular in coordination with the US, the United Arab Emirates, and the EU, in order to resume sending humanitarian aid,” he noted.
The President, who will visit Lebanon with von der Leyen, expressed satisfaction with her response.
When pressed about the vessel’s departure date, he stated that US information suggests the dock’s completion on May 2.
“We have been doing all the preparatory work, in particular in coordination with the US, the United Arab Emirates and the EU in order to resume sending humanitarian aid to that specific point,” he affirmed.
President Christodoulides noted the British Prime Minister has requested a discussion and a telephone conversation is scheduled for this afternoon. The matter will also be addressed tomorrow during a meeting with the European Commission President, who is visiting Cyprus.
“We are ready to go ahead as soon as we receive the green light on the part of the US,” he stressed.
Israel’s six-month-old war against Hamas in Gaza, in response to an attack by the militant group in southern Israel, has killed more than 34,000 people, Palestinian health authorities say, and caused a humanitarian disaster for the enclave’s more than 2 million inhabitants.
The U.S. has started construction of a floating jetty on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast that will enable aid deliveries pre-screened in Cyprus with Israeli oversight. Once that aid reaches Gaza, it will still need to pass through Israeli checkpoints on land.
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