US to help build port off Gaza as EU plans maritime aid route
▶ Calls increase to protect crews from further strikes as tension grows in waterway over Palestine-Israel conflict
The US military is to help set up a temporary port off the coast of Gaza to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave, officials have said.
US troops will not need to enter Gaza, the officials added, as the military has “unique” capabilities that will enable the structure to be built offshore. The construction of the port is a joint project also involving Israel and Cyprus, they said, and Washington is working with the UN and aid groups to ensure supplies are delivered to those in Gaza who need them.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen flew to Cyprus late on Thursday to discuss the creation of a maritime aid corridor between the island and Gaza.
She is set to hold talks on Friday with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, who first suggested delivering aid to the enclave by sea in November.
The initiative has since gained traction as NGOs say about 300,000 people face starvation in northern Gaza, where the UN says one in six children aged under two has acute malnutrition.
It is understood that the project will remain under Nicosia’s supervision, with the European Commission co-ordinating support.
“We are stage now where Cypriot authorities have invited us to come to Cyprus in order to launch the project,” commission spokesman Eric Mamer said.
Germany is among the European countries working to support the initiative, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said at a media briefing in Brussels on Thursday.
“Because every single aid package counts, we are working with the EU and our partners in the region,” she said. “The fact we are now loading up ships and planes, as well as lorries, although it’s far more complicated, shows above all that far too little aid is getting into Gaza. That has to change.”
At the same briefing, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said diplomats “must look at the options on the sea” even as they put pressure on Israel to let more aid enter Gaza by land.
The Philippines is mourning the death of two sailors on a cargo ship that was attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
They were among three crew members killed when a Houthi missile struck the vessel in the Red Sea.
The Philippine government paid tribute to the “heroic seafarers” after the strike on the True Confidence, a Liberian-owned, Greek-operated vessel, on Wednesday afternoon.
It came as calls grew to protect crews from further attacks.
A Vietnamese citizen was also killed, Bloomberg reported. Four crew members had serious injuries, including burns.
The deaths are the first civilian casualties inflicted by the Houthis since the Iranian-backed rebel group began attacking Red Sea shipping over Israel’s war in Gaza.
Manila said it was working to establish the condition of the other 20 crew members, the majority of whom are believed to be Filipino.
One Indian and four Vietnamese citizens were also serving as crew members, alongside three armed guards from Sri Lanka and Nepal, the ship’s management said.
The True Confidence flew the flag of Barbados, where many ships are registered for tax reasons. A Houthi official claimed the ship was US-owned.
The ship’s management acquired the vessel on February 23, according to the Equasis registry, reportedly from a US company. The US Fifth Fleet, which patrols the Red Sea, told The National it had no further comment on the incident.
Third January Maritime, the Greece-based operator of the True Confidence, has been approached for comment.
The Indian Navy sent a warship to respond.
It provided “critical medical aid” to the rescued crew members, the navy said, adding that they were taken to Djibouti.
India’s military released footage of crew members being rescued by helicopter and treated by paramedics.
Manila repeated calls for ships in the region to “comply strictly” with the expanded designation of high-risk areas and to “implement appropriate risk mitigation measures, such as rerouting vessels”.
The True Confidence suffered “significant damage” in the attack, officials said. Vessels nearby reported an explosion.
The ship had been ordered to alter course by people identifying themselves as the Yemeni Navy, security agencies said. Houthi official Yahya Saree said the vessel was attacked after ignoring “repeated warnings” from the group.
The Houthis have continued to attack ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden despite increasing international efforts to curb the major disruption caused by the group.
Spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam accused the US of provoking the attacks, saying Washington is responsible for “everything that happens” in the Red Sea.
He said ships are targeted if they do not heed Houthi warnings to alter course.
“There are those who comply and retreat, and there are those who refuse and are targeted, and we hold America responsible for the repercussions of everything that happens in the Red Sea.”
The spokesman also said the war on Gaza is “distinctly American,” and said Israel “was only a tool” in the attacks on the Palestinian people.
The secretary general of the International Maritime Organisation condemned the attack and said “innocent seafarers should never become collateral victims”.
“We all need to do more to protect seafarers,” Arsenio Dominguez said.
The US and UK have launched air strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen, while several countries, including China, have bolstered their military presence in regional waterways to defend commercial shipping.
The deaths are the first civilian casualties inflicted by the Houthis since they began attacking ships in the Red Sea