The United Arab Emirates is preparing to increase aid deliveries into Gaza, an envoy said on Friday, saying a sea corridor from Cyprus was essential alongside land and air access.
Minister of State Lana Nusseibeh said a maritime route channelling pre-screened aid from the East Mediterranean island was a vital lifeline to the people of Gaza.
The UAE has partnered with Cyprus in supplying large quantities of aid to the Palestinian enclave, devastated by a two-year war.
"Maintaining multiple entry points into Gaza remains incredibly important," Nusseibeh said after an inspection of aid accumulating at the port of Limassol in Cyprus.
"As this plan moves forward, access to Gaza by land, air and sea is going to remain critical," she told reporters.
Israel and Palestinian terrorist group Hamas agreed a month ago to a first phase of a plan presented by US President Donald Trump. It paused a devastating two-year war in Gaza triggered by a cross-border attack by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, and secured a deal to release Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
Despite the ceasefire, far too little aid was reaching Gaza, NGOs said on Tuesday.
Some 22,000 tons of pre-screened aid has been dispatched from Cyprus under the so-called Amalthea Initiative launched last year. Some of it reached Gaza directly via a short-lived, disastrous temporary pier set up by the Biden administration last year, while other shipments have been dispatched to the port of Ashdod in Israel.
(Writing by Michele Kambas; Editing by Alex Richardson)
