NICOSIA: Cyprus offered more detail Wednesday on its initiative to create a sea corridor for the steady flow of humanitarian assistance from Cyprus to Gaza, saying that aid-laden ships would sail directly to the enclave, where United Nations personnel would receive it for eventual distribution.
Cyprus government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “saw the initiative in a positive light” during a long telephone conversation Tuesday evening with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.
Cyprus is still sketching out with fellow European Union member countries and Arab states the logistical details of its plan to ferry aid from its main port of Limassol to Gaza once conditions on the ground permit it.
Ships would be vetted at the point of departure at the Limassol port to ensure that nothing would be transported that could be weaponized by Hamas to use against Israel.
Gaza’s humanitarian needs have escalated since the Israel-Hamas war erupted following the Palestinian militant group’s surprise Oct. 7 attacks in Israel that left nearly 1,400 Israelis dead and at least 240 people taken hostage. Israel retaliated with a military operation that has so far left over 8,000 Palestinians dead.
United Nations Under Secretary-General for peace operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said that UN officials “are actively working so that more humanitarian assistance can be delivered to the population of Gaza.”
Lacroix said it’s up to the parties to decide the best way to ensure that the aid reaches those who need it most.
“But I can assure you that the determination to work actively in that direction is there from the UN,” Lacroix told reporters after talks with Christodoulides in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia.
The UN official said the Cypriot initiative is “highly appreciated” by the world body.
Cyprus plans to send humanitarian aid directly to Gaza by ship, where UN personnel would receive it
https://arab.news/m63tq
Cyprus plans to send humanitarian aid directly to Gaza by ship, where UN personnel would receive it
- Cyprus government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “saw the initiative in a positive light”
- The UN official said the Cypriot initiative is “highly appreciated” by the world body
US announces ‘large-scale’ strikes against Daesh in Syria
- CENTCOM said operation ordered by President Donald Trump
- Launched in response to the deadly Dec. 13 Daesh attack in Palmyra
WASHINGTON: US and allied forces carried out “large-scale” strikes against the Daesh group in Syria on Saturday in response to an attack last month that left three Americans dead, the US military said.
“The strikes today targeted Daesh throughout Syria” and were part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, which was launched “in direct response to the deadly Daesh attack on US and Syrian forces in Palmyra, Syria” on December 13, US Central Command said in a statement on X.
CENTCOM said the operation was ordered by President Donald Trump following the ambush and is aimed at “root(ing) out Islamic terrorism against our warfighters, prevent(ing) future attacks, and protect(ing) American and partner forces in the region.”
The statement continued: “If you harm our warfighters, we will find you and kill you anywhere in the world, no matter how hard you try to evade justice,” adding that US and coalition forces remain “resolute in pursuing terrorists who seek to harm the United States.”
The statement did not note whether anyone was killed in the strikes. The Pentagon declined to comment on more details and the State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
About 1,000 US troops remain in Syria, while Syria has been cooperating with a US-led coalition against Daesh, reaching an agreement late last year when President Ahmed Al-Sharaa visited the White House.
* With Agencies
