Aid on a platform near a Spanish ship that is supposed to launch the sea corridor from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip (Reuters)

"Israel Today" said that the sea corridor - to transport humanitarian aid from Cyprus to a pier being built on the northern coast of Gaza - will bring several benefits to Israel and ease international pressure on it to put an end to the humanitarian disaster in the Strip.

The newspaper quoted a political source as saying that Israel hopes - through the opening of the sea line - to achieve several goals, including replacing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) with another organization that will be responsible for distributing food.

The Israeli political source explained that this corridor will achieve other goals, most notably:

  • International pressure on Israel has decreased as it is the party that deprives the people of Gaza of food and starves them.

  • Reducing the burden on Israel as the party responsible for bringing humanitarian supplies to Gaza.

  • Establishing another port for Israel in Larnaca, Cyprus, within 60 days.

  • Depriving the Hamas government administration of the ability to feed the population, thus lifting its grip on the Strip.

  • Showing the complexity of "moving supplies to Gaza" to the Americans responsible for the project.

  • Israel will allocate to the sea corridor project the minimum number of forces necessary to operate it so as not to harm the war effort.

That official told the Israeli newspaper that although providing aid to Gaza angers the Israeli public, it is beneficial to Israel in terms of its military operations in Gaza.

Sea passage

"Israel Today" said that teams from Israel and the United States are currently working to coordinate the way the sea corridor project will work to transport aid to Gaza from Cyprus, noting that some of its components have already been agreed upon.

She added that according to current plans, the project will be in the first experimental phase, and will be implemented with a content ranging between 10 and 20 trucks only per day, provided that the food supplies destined for Gaza will be transported to a designated dock in the Cypriot port of Larnaca, and after their arrival, the trucks loaded with food will be transported to distribution points in the Strip. .

The Israeli source told the newspaper that the General Security Service (Shin Bet) is currently establishing a comprehensive inspection system for the contents of shipments to ensure that they do not contain weapons that could be used by the Hamas movement.

"Israel Today" explained that the new pier is currently being constructed on the northern coast of the Gaza Strip so that it can receive ships.

She said that after the inspection is completed, the shipments will be transferred to a ship capable of anchoring in the shallow waters of the Gaza coast.

She indicated that at this stage, security arrangements have not yet been put in place regarding the supervision of the ships to ensure that they are not used during sailing hours by Iran or other parties for smuggling, as she put it.

The newspaper stated that Israel will work to verify that Hamas members are not the ones who will receive aid shipments coming from Cyprus, noting that the US military has appointed an international non-governmental organization called “Global Central Kitchen” to operate food supplies for the residents of Gaza.

Source: Israel Today