Gaza aid to be scaled up using Cyprus sea corridor

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A deal has been proposed that would offer Hamas militia an escape from Gaza’s Israeli zone.
A deal has been proposed that would offer Hamas militia an escape from Gaza’s Israeli zone.

The United Arab Emirates is preparing to increase aid deliveries into Gaza, an envoy says, saying a sea corridor from Cyprus was essential alongside land and air access.

Minister of State Lana Nusseibeh said a maritime route channelling pre-screened aid from the East Mediterranean island was a vital lifeline to the people of Gaza. 

The UAE has partnered with Cyprus in supplying large quantities of aid to the Palestinian enclave, devastated by a two-year war. 

GAZA CONFLICT
Some aid dispatched from Cyprus reached Gaza directly via a temporary pier set up by the US in 2024. (EPA PHOTO)

“Maintaining multiple entry points into Gaza remains incredibly important,” Nusseibeh said on Friday, after an inspection of aid accumulating at the port of Limassol in Cyprus.

“As this plan moves forward, access to Gaza by land, air and sea is going to remain critical,” she told reporters.

Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed a month ago to a first phase of a plan presented by US President Donald Trump. 

Cyprus UAE Gaza Aid
Pallets of aid for Gaza is are lined up at a warehouse at the port in the city of Limassol, Cyprus. (AP PHOTO)

It paused a devastating two-year war in Gaza triggered by a cross-border attack by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023, and secured a deal to release Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

Despite the ceasefire, far too little aid was reaching Gaza, humanitarian agencies said on Tuesday.

Some 22,000 tons of pre-screened aid has been dispatched from Cyprus under the so-called Amalthea Initiative launched last year. Some of it reached Gaza directly via a short-lived temporary pier set up by the US last year, while other shipments have been dispatched to the port of Ashdod in Israel.

Reuters