EU to send aid to Gaza Strip by sea

SGGPO 11/10/2023 18:55

According to Reuters news agency, some European Union (EU) leaders agreed to promote a plan to send aid to the Gaza Strip by sea, instead of transporting it by truck through Egypt's Rafah border gate.

Food relief for people in the Gaza Strip Photo: REUTERS

The move comes as Israel agreed to halt military operations in northern Gaza Strip areas for four hours each day, to allow civilians to leave the war zone and help deliver humanitarian aid into the area.

Under the Amalthea Initiative, Cyprus is the closest EU country to Gaza, located only about 400km from the conflict zone, and could act as a buffer zone for maritime shipments to Gaza. The aid would be collected, inspected and stored in Cyprus, then sent to Gaza on ships inspected daily by a joint commission, including Israel. The ships would be escorted by warships to a designated location on the Gaza coast, from where they would be taken to a neutral, safe zone.

Humanitarian aid is being delivered from an operations center based in the southern city of Larnaca, which has a port and airport, and a coordination center is already in place, with 33 countries participating. Israel said any solution must be closely coordinated with it, and that aid would only include water, food and medicine, not fuel.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has warned that nearly 1.5 million Palestinian civilians displaced by Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip face a collapsing health system and little access to clean water. The French government is proposing to expand a corridor to evacuate the critically injured from Gaza to floating hospital ships in the Mediterranean. Israel has also discussed the idea of ​​floating hospitals because of limited hospital capacity in Gaza.

Aid goods into the Gaza Strip. Photo: REUTERS

Aid goods into the Gaza Strip. Photo: REUTERS

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/eu-se-gui-vien-tro-cho-dai-gaza-bang-duong-bien-post713591.html