(Jerusalem) Israel has given its agreement “in principle” to Cyprus for the opening of the maritime corridor between the eastern Mediterranean island and the Gaza Strip, a besieged Palestinian territory where humanitarian needs are vital, the Israeli ministry said on Thursday Foreign Affairs.
“There is authorization in principle to use this route [maritime]but still some practical problems to resolve,” ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat told AFP.
This project should contribute to significantly increasing humanitarian aid for the 2.4 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, after verification of cargoes in Cyprus “under Israeli supervision”, he recalled.
The proposal was formulated several weeks ago by Cyprus, after war broke out on October 7 between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement in power in the Gaza Strip.
This war was triggered by the unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israeli soil, which left around 1,400 dead, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on the latest official Israeli figures.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas, shelled the Gaza Strip and launched a ground offensive there on October 27.
A total of 21,320 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza since the start of Israeli military operations, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.
And the humanitarian situation there is disastrous. Some 1.9 million people, or 85% of the population, have been pushed from their homes, according to the UN. There is a severe shortage of basic necessities in the territory, which has been under total siege by Israel since October 9.
Humanitarian aid is currently being delivered in very insufficient quantities by land via the Rafah crossing point, between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
Cyprus is barely 400 kilometers from the Gaza coast.
Cited on Thursday by the CNA news agency, official Cypriot sources affirmed that Nicosia had completed all the procedures for the establishment of the maritime corridor.
But questions have been raised about the safety of the ships and their crews as they approach the Gaza coast, as well as the unloading arrangements.
In presenting its plan, Cyprus, a member of the European Union, explained that the aid would be collected and then stored on the island, where it would be inspected by a joint committee including Israeli representatives before being transported by boat.