Only 1,000 tonnes of aid out of 7,000 sent by sea from Cyprus have been distributed to Gaza, US humanitarian officials on the Mediterranean island said on Wednesday. The other 6,000 tonnes, in a secure location, have not yet been distributed due to violence and the risk of looting, these officials told the press.
“I have never seen such a difficult environment”
A maritime corridor linking Cyprus to the Gaza Strip was opened in March in the hope of increasing aid to the population of the territory, where a war has pitted Israel against the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas since last October. The humanitarian situation there is catastrophic and the aid arriving by land or air is far from sufficient to meet the enormous needs of Gaza’s 2.4 million inhabitants.
“I have never seen such a difficult or complex environment” for humanitarians, said Doug Stropes of USAID, the US development agency. “There is currently a study on security,” he added, speaking of “anarchy” and “gangs”.
Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said that despite the difficulties, aid delivery would continue. “There is a constant flow of ships” going to Gaza, he said. “There are of course certain difficulties, linked to everything that is happening in Gaza, but we are continuing our efforts.”
“All means” to help the Palestinians
The US ambassador to Cyprus, Julie Fisher, said her country was committed to using “all possible means to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people who face catastrophic levels of food insecurity.” The war in Gaza was sparked by an attack by Hamas on October 7 in southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data. Israelis.
In retaliation, Israel launched an offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has so far killed 37,718 people, mostly civilians, according to data from the Hamas-led government’s Health Ministry.