On Tuesday, the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus said that it was stepping up its attempts to secure firm backing in order to build a maritime corridor that would allow relief to be delivered to the war-torn Gaza.
Following up on the matter with leaders of the European Union last week, President Nikos Christodoulides announced that he had discussed it with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Cyprus is ready to contribute to establishing a maritime corridor from Cypriot ports to deliver aid to Gaza,” Christodoulides said.
“Today, I will speak again with the prime minister of Israel, as well as with the heads of EU institutions and with the United States, to see how we proceed with implementing this initiative of the Republic of Cyprus,” he added.
He said the country the nearest EU member state to the Gaza Strip was “ready to play a substantial role”.
Christodoulides said later the proposal had been received “positively”.
“I had a long telephone conversation with the prime minister of Israel, and this evening, I will speak with the president of France (Emmanuel Macron) to see how the proposal we have developed can be implemented,” he told reporters.
“We are discussing the details, and I hope that soon we will be able to proceed to the implementation stage,” he added.
Cyprus says its proximity to Gaza, about 370 kilometers (230 miles) to the northwest, and good diplomatic relations with Arab neighbors and Israel make it an ideal staging post for aid.
Recently, Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos visited Jordan and the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.
The Cypriot president has also involved his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in the talks.
“At this moment when there is a crisis, there is a role for the Republic of Cyprus to play, and that’s what we’re trying to achieve through our initiatives,” said Christodoulides.
The logistics of the aid corridor and how it would be secured are issues that need to be agreed upon.
Since the October 7 Hamas onslaught on Israel, which according to Israeli sources claimed 1,400 lives, the majority of them civilians, Cyprus has also functioned as a transit hub for foreign nationals being evacuated from the country.
Over 8,500 people have died in the Palestinian territory as a result of Israeli bombing since then, mostly civilians and many children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
The UN agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) issued a warning on Monday, stating that the “unprecedented humanitarian needs” in the enclave could not be met by the small number of relief convoys that enter Gaza through its land crossing with Egypt.
