Aid ship to Gaza still delayed but expected to sail ‘within hours’
The shipment of humanitarian aid which is to be sent from Larnaca to Gaza is still on hold this morning due to a technical difficulty but the ship carrying it is expected to set sail imminently, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said on Monday.
Speaking to state broadcaster CyBC around 7am, Kombos said the technical difficulty which had held up the shipment was not considered a serious one and was not an issue at the Cypriot end of the operation, implying it had to do with security and logistical arrangements at the Gaza end.
Cyprus was gearing to send around 150 tonnes of aid to Gaza on Sunday afternoon, through the sea corridor dubbed Amalthia, after it received the final seal of approval from Israel.
State officials have repeated the exact time of the vessel’s departure would not be announced for security reasons.
Meanwhile, a somewhat puzzling statement in the Jerusalem Post, attributed the idea of the humanitarian sea corridor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the news source, a senior diplomat in Israel claimed Netanyahu had proposed the idea to US President Jo Biden on October 22 stating that its implementation was on condition that the aid would be subjected to Israeli security clearance in Cyprus.
According to the same source the idea was then discussed with President Nikos Christodoulides on October 31 and brought up again in talks between the Israeli PM and Biden on January 19.
Details of the negotiations were being released to the public so as not to “give the impression that the US acted autonomously” in this initiative, according to the source.
Questioned about the attribution, Kombos, who has been pivotal in efforts to make the idea a reality, stated that the initiative had begun in earnest on October 7 and that “for much of the [journey] we were on our own”.
He added that various stakeholders, including Israel, had to be convinced that the logistics could work and said the foreign ministry was overseeing the whole operation, albeit with significant financial and logistical help from other states, the UN and NGOs.
“There were multiple contacts with various parties and the whole effort was also influenced by the changing scenarios on land […] We do not have the human resources, finances and [all] the logistical [capacities] and the core of the [Cypriot] effort was focused on creating the alliance as a first step,” Kombos said.
The idea is for the aid to be ongoing and regular as this is the only way it will be effective, the minister noted.
He added that a second aid ship to be used for the purpose is currently awaited.
Meanwhile, the government is also preparing to participate as a key player in the [post-war] reconstruction in Gaza—which will be the next phase, he said.
Asked about reports of Israel requesting to purchase a port in Cyprus or gain control of one in order to orchestrate this future development, Kombos said he had only just heard the idea on Sunday and that he did not believe it to be realistic, though at the same time it was not within his remit or authority to make comment.
Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis on Sunday had said the vessel with humanitarian aid would depart from Larnaca “in the next few hours and stressed that the government was coordinating with Israel on the matter.
“The vessel has been inspected, as required, by Cyprus’ authorities in accordance with all the protocols included in the planning.”
He added Cyprus “is in continuous contact with all involved parties aiming to achieve a reliable corridor for the unhindered provision of humanitarian aid to the civilian population of Gaza.”
The trip is expected to take two days until the aid reaches Gaza, and the vessel will carry an MMS Aris floating unit, as Gaza has no port structure.