(NEWSnet/AP) – A shipment of humanitarian aid left Cyprus by sea Thursday morning, making its way to a newly built pier in Gaza, Cyprus’ foreign minister said.
Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos says the U.S. vessel departed from Larnaca port with the aim of transferring as much badly needed aid to Gaza by sea as possible.
U.S. President Joe Biden gave an order about two months ago to build the large floating platform several miles off the Gaza coast.
The World Health Organization says shortages of fuel for its medical operations in southern Gaza have already forced one of three remaining hospitals in the city of Rafah to shut down.
The Rafah border crossing with Egypt has been closed since Israel’s military took control of the Palestinian side Tuesday, blocking the entry of desperately needed humanitarian aid. The U.N. says northern Gaza is already in a state of “full-blown famine.”
It remains uncertain whether Israel will launch an all-out invasion of Rafah as international efforts for a cease-fire continue. Israel has said that an assault on Rafah is crucial to its goal of destroying Hamas after the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that left 1,200 dead and 250 seized as hostages and abducted to Gaza.
The United States, which opposes a Rafah invasion, has said Israel has not provided a credible plan for evacuating and protecting civilians now crammed in Rafah. The war has killed over 34,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, and has driven nearly 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million Palestinians from their homes.
President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he would not supply offensive weapons that Israel could use to launch an all-out assault on Rafah, over concern for the well-being of the more than 1 million civilians sheltering there.
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