Cyprus proposal
Israel allows aid deliveries to Gaza via the Mediterranean
The population in the Gaza Strip is largely dependent on support from aid organizations
© Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images
According to the UN, 40 percent of the people in Gaza are now at risk of famine. A plan from Cyprus could now help: the population is to receive further aid supplies via a corridor in the Mediterranean.
Israel has “in principle” given the green light for the use of the sea route via Cyprus for aid deliveries, ministry spokesman Lior Haiat told the AFP news agency. “But there are still some logistical issues that need to be resolved.”
40 percent of people in Gaza are at risk of hunger
Cyprus made the proposal more than a month ago. The aim is to bring large quantities of urgently needed relief supplies to the Gaza Strip by sea. The aid that has so far reached the Palestinian territory overland is far from sufficient. The 2.4 million people in the Gaza Strip lack water, food, fuel and medicine.
As a result of the fighting in Gaza Strip are according to the UN Palestinian Relief Agency UNRWA 40 percent the population living there is threatened by a famine. “Every day is a fight for survival, for finding food and water,” wrote UNRWA’s Gaza director, Thomas White, on Thursday on the online platform X, formerly Twitter. Gaza is struggling with a famine catastrophe 40 percent of people are threatened.
Cyprus is located around 370 kilometers from the Gaza Strip and maintains good relations with both Israel and neighboring Arab states. Many foreign citizens were evacuated from Israel via the Mediterranean island following the attack on Israel by the radical Islamic Hamas on October 7th.
Fighting in the Middle East
In ruins: This is what the north of the Gaza Strip looks like after seven weeks of war
The Gaza War began with Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel. Hundreds of Hamas fighters entered Israel on October 7th and committed atrocities there, mostly against civilians. According to Israeli figures, around 1,140 people were killed and 250 others were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip. 129 hostages are still in the Palestinian territory.
In response to the Hamas attack, Israel has been attacking targets in the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas Ministry of Health, which cannot be independently verified, more than 21,300 people have been killed so far.