President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen hopes to open a corridor on Sunday, March 10, which will allow the transportation of humanitarian aid from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip. This was reported by UNN with reference to Arab News.
"We are very close to opening this corridor, hopefully this Sunday," von der Leyen said during a visit to the port of Larnaca in the south of the island, about 380 kilometers from Gaza.
According to her, the first pilot operation will be launched on Friday.
The European Commission also issued a joint statement with Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and the United Kingdom, in which it "approved the activation" of the maritime aid corridor to Gaza.
"Delivering humanitarian aid directly to Gaza by sea will be challenging, and our countries will continue to evaluate and adjust their efforts to ensure that aid is delivered as efficiently as possible," the statement said.
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Ursula von der Leyen's statement came a day after US President Joe Biden's address to Congress, during which he ordered the US military to build a temporary port in Gaza to bring more humanitarian aid to the enclave.
Senior U.S. officials noted that the initiative announced by Biden is based on a maritime aid corridor proposed by Cyprus, the EU member state closest to the Gaza Strip.