By Al-Fassel | 2024-03-11

International efforts to deliver humanitarian relief to Gaza are set to ramp up this week as plans for a maritime corridor from Cyprus and a temporary port on the Mediterranean coast to receive aid shipments move ahead.

The US military will "lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary port in the Mediterranean on the coast of Gaza," US President Joe Biden said March 7.

The effort builds on an initiative proposed by Cyprus for a maritime aid corridor.

"A temporary pier will enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting in Gaza," Biden said, and will be able to "receive large shipments carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters."

When the temporary port is operational, it will "provide the capacity for hundreds of additional truckloads of assistance each day," a senior US official said.

The Pentagon says it will take up to 60 days to set up the temporary pier.

A US Army ship left Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia on March 9 carrying the "first equipment to establish a temporary pier" to receive aid off Gaza, US Central Command said.

Maritime corridor moves forward

In a joint statement issued March 8, the European Commission, Cyprus, United Arab Emirates (UAE), United States and United Kingdom endorsed the activation of the maritime aid corridor.

In the same statement, Germany, Greece, Italy and the Netherlands announced their intent to deliver additional humanitarian assistance to Gaza via the corridor.

US charity World Central Kitchen, which has partnered with Spanish charity Open Arms, has teams in Gaza who were "constructing a dock" to unload the shipment, said Open Arms spokeswoman Laura Lanuza.

"Cyprus’ leadership in establishing the Amalthea Initiative – which outlines a mechanism for securely shipping aid from Cyprus to Gaza via sea – was integral to enabling this joint effort to launch a maritime corridor," the statement said.

"Together, our nations intend to build on this model to deliver significant additional aid by sea, working in coordination with UN senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag."

Kaag is charged with facilitating, coordinating, monitoring and verifying the flow of aid into Gaza under UN Security Council Resolution 2720.

"The dedicated efforts of the UAE to mobilize support for the initiative will result in the initial shipment of food by sea to the people of Gaza," the statement said.

"Cyprus will soon convene senior officials to discuss how we can accelerate this maritime channel supporting those in need, supplementing land and air routes, including from Egypt and Jordan," it added.

"The delivery of humanitarian assistance directly to Gaza by sea will be complex, and our nations will continue to assess and adjust our efforts to ensure we deliver aid as effectively as possible," it said.

'Scaling up' aid to Gaza

The Cyprus initiative "provides a platform at the port of Larnaca for the transloading of assistance and screening by Israeli officials of Gaza-bound goods," a senior US official said.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said the sea corridor aimed to "scale up" aid by complementing other routes and airdrops.

Military planes conducted six joint airdrops of aid into the northern parts of Gaza on March 10, the Jordanian army said in a statement, with US, French, Belgian and Egyptian planes also participating in the relief operation.

Jordan has conducted 37 unilateral airdrop operations and another 40 "in collaboration with partner nations" during the war, the army said.

The United States and Jordan carried out several days of humanitarian aid airdrops into Gaza last week, coordinated with Israel, with the participation of Belgian, Dutch, Egyptian and French planes.