Cyprus to host talks aimed at expanding maritime aid route to besieged enclave

Cyprus will host a meeting on Thursday to discuss how to increase the operational capacity of a maritime corridor to Gaza, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos has said.

More than 40 countries are expected to attend the meeting, which will include discussions on long-term funding of the corridor, Mr Kombos said yesterday before meeting other EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

“We now see a growing international humanitarian coalition and for that we are extremely pleased,” he said.

A ship carrying 200 tonnes of aid from US-based charity World Central Kitchen reached Gaza from Larnaca last Monday, and the supplies have been “safely distributed”, Mr Kombos said. “A second larger shipment is ready to depart as we speak,” he said.

The second vessel, also organised by World Central Kitchen, has been loaded with 240 tonnes of aid and is waiting to set sail from Larnaca.

World Central Kitchen told The National that all aid from the first ship had been “offloaded and is currently in a warehouse in Gaza being readied for distribution”.

The charity operates several kitchens in the enclave and has also contributed to aid delivered by land and air, distributing 37 million meals to Palestinians in the territory.

The arrival of the first ship was the first time Israel had lifted its maritime blockade of Gaza since Hamas came to power in 2007, Mr Kombos said.

“Israel has lifted the naval blockade of Gaza exclusively for the Amalthea plan,” he said.

“Cyprus has been working on this for a long time and the support from the US and the UAE has been instrumental for the materialisation of this project.”

Israel inspected the aid in Cyprus before the ship departed to ensure that “the cargo is sterile”, Mr Kombos added.

He said the next steps will be to increase the corridor’s capacity and set up a fund to finance more frequent aid deliveries.

“This is going to be a project for the long run and needs to be financed properly in a secure way with accountability,” Mr Kombos said.

The US Army is building a temporary dock in Gaza to receive aid, and the White House has said it will be ready by early May. But it may be operational sooner, Mr Kombos said.

“The completion of the construction is going to be closer in terms of time to now, rather than what was perhaps originally envisioned,” he said.