President Nikos Christodoulides has discussed with his Israeli and Egyptian counterparts an “idea” for sending humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea, it transpired on Thursday.
Christodoulides himself made the revelation in remarks to the media on arriving at the European Council summit in Brussels.
The president spoke of a mooted “humanitarian sea corridor” from Cyprus to the blockaded Gaza Strip – home to 2.3 million Palestinians.
He added Cyprus is ready to assume a role in the wider crisis, “particularly on matters regarding evacuations from the region.”
“We have requests from a number of countries, members of the European Union, and the United States.”
On the issue of humanitarian assistance, Christodoulides said he has shared ideas with the Israeli Prime Minister and the Egyptian President on how Cyprus might assist in ensuring unhindered aid to Gaza.
This concerned “whether aid can be sent to Gaza from Cyprus, from Limassol.”
He did not give any further details. Gaza does not have a deep-sea port.
Since the current hostilities began on October 7, Israel has imposed a total lockdown on Gaza. To date 62 trucks aid trucks have crossed into the strip – a rate which the World Health Organisation has called “a drop in the ocean.”
Taking another question, relating to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s comment that Hamas is not a terrorist organisation, Christodoulides said: “I hope the members of the European Council, the EU member states and the United States hear this.
“The statements made by the Turkish President essentially amount to encouraging terrorism. Nothing else.”
The president added: “The answer to those who support Hamas, is that Hamas does not represent the Palestinians. Therefore in effect he [Erdogan] is trying to undermine the Palestinian Authority itself.”