The European Commission, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States on Friday issued a joint statement regarding the establishment of a maritime corridor to send international humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Highlighting the circumstances faced by the Palestinian people, the group of countries stressed that the situation in Gaza has reached a critical point, making the establishment of a maritime corridor to deliver humanitarian assistance to the enclave imperative.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire, with innocent Palestinian families and children desperate for basic necessities,” they said.
The coalition praised Cyprus for proposing the “Amalthea” initiative for transporting aid from Cyprus to Gaza via sea.
“Cyprus’ leadership in establishing the Amalthea Initiative—which outlines a mechanism for securely shipping aid from Cyprus to Gaza via sea—was integral to enabling this joint effort to launch a maritime corridor,” the statement said.
It added that the countries will work with the UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag — who is in charge of facilitating, coordinating, monitoring, and verifying the flow of aid into Gaza.
“The dedicated efforts of the UAE to mobilise support for the Initiative will result in the initial shipment of food by sea to the people of Gaza,” the statement stated.
It noted that Cyprus will convene senior officials to discuss how this maritime channel, supplementing land and air routes, including from Egypt and Jordan, can be accelerated.
“The delivery of humanitarian assistance directly to Gaza by sea will be complex, and our nations will continue to assess and adjust our efforts to ensure we deliver aid as effectively as possible,” the countries stressed.
“We will continue to work with Israel to expand deliveries by land, insisting that it facilitate more routes and open additional crossings to get more aid to more people,” they added while highlighting that “protecting civilian lives is a key element of international humanitarian law that must be respected.”
During a visit to Cyprus, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she expected a maritime aid corridor to start operating between Cyprus and Gaza this weekend.
She said a pilot test run of food aid collected by a charity group and supported by the United Arab Emirates could be leaving Cyprus as early as Friday from the port of Larnaca.
Cyprus, located some 370 km northwest of Gaza, is the closest European Union member state to the region. It has campaigned for months for the creation of a sustained, one-way sea route carrying aid directly to the enclave.
(Picture by George Christophorou)
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