A Spanish aid ship sailed today from the port of Larnaca in Cyprus towards Gaza (French)

Two UN officials and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron confirmed on Tuesday that land corridors are necessary to deliver aid to Gaza, and that the sea corridor from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip cannot in any way be an alternative to them.

Cameron said that his country is working with its allies to operate the sea corridor from Cyprus, but it should not be an alternative to delivering aid by land.

He stressed that land corridors are the best way to deliver the required volume of aid to Gaza, calling on Israel to open more of these corridors, including those in northern Gaza, and reduce the level of inspection required.

He added, "Israel must remove all obstacles to aid and restore water, electricity and communications supplies to Gaza."

He also called on Tel Aviv to grant more entry visas to United Nations employees, which would contribute to bringing aid into the sector, as he put it.

An international position

In turn, two senior United Nations officials welcomed the opening of a sea corridor from Cyprus to deliver more aid to Gaza, but they said that this could not replace the delivery of humanitarian aid by land.

“In terms of large-scale aid delivery, there is no significant alternative to the many land routes and entry points from Israel to Gaza,” said the UN Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, and the Executive Director of the UN Office for Project Services, Jorge Moreira da Silva.

"Land routes from Egypt, Rafah in particular, and Jordan also remain essential to the overall humanitarian effort," he added.

“However, the sea corridor represents a much-needed addition and is part of a sustainable humanitarian response to deliver aid as effectively as possible through all possible routes,” they stressed.

It is noteworthy that a Spanish aid ship sailed today from the port of Larnaca in Cyprus towards the Gaza Strip, in a first trial of the new sea corridor to deliver relief materials to the residents of the Strip who are facing war and starvation.

The European Union and the United States had previously announced the expected opening of the sea corridor to transport humanitarian aid to the Strip.

This came after US President Joe Biden announced a major humanitarian operation by sea, which according to officials in his administration includes building a “temporary dock” in Gaza to bring in “massive aid,” but its completion may require several weeks.

Source: Agencies