Gaza: delivering aid “via” a maritime corridor remains very dangerous without a truce, warns the UN
The United States and the European Union announced, Friday March 8, the establishment of a maritime corridor between Cyprus and Gaza to deliver aid while famine looms in the Palestinian territory, an initiative imagined by the United Arab Emirates.
But the UN warns that delivering aid, even
via
this scenario, remains difficult and it will not be the most direct route.
The international community is seeking a solution to deliver aid to Gaza, facing the difficulties and consequences of the airdrops.
Here, one of the latter in northern Gaza, March 8, 2024. © Leo Correa / AP
By: RFI Follow
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With our correspondent in New York,
Carrie Nooten
The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen hopes that this
maritime humanitarian corridor
, 370 km long, can be inaugurated on Sunday March 10.
Because, faced with malnutrition and dehydration which threaten Gazans,
aid airdrops
are recognized as too ineffective and dangerous: 5 people were killed on Friday March 8 and 10 others injured by falling packages.
The leaders of this initiative recognize that this operation will be “
complex
”, but they underlined their determination to work to “
guarantee that aid is delivered as efficiently as possible
”.
A
beginning
"
The head of the United Nations humanitarian agency, Martin Griffiths, welcomed these announcements while remaining cautious: “
This is the start of a conversation.
It's going to be difficult to make this work quickly.
We know how difficult it is to move these systems forward.
We saw what happened on the beach the other day... but we need help, wherever it comes from.
Of course, we continue to insist that what we need for Gaza is a ceasefire.
But we also need land routes and access is our priority.
This is the only way to have a real impact.
»
An unknown remains: once the aid arrives at the dock, Washington suggests that it would be the role of the UN to distribute it.
Yet Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been clear:
without a ceasefire
, any aid distribution is too dangerous to implement.
Also read: War in Gaza: “What we know about the atrocities, crimes and carnage is very limited”
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