US supports aid to besieged Gaza

The provision of aid and any country’s ability to do so to the Palestinian people in war-torn Gaza would be a positive contribution, the US State Department has said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed possibly creating a maritime corridor from Cyprus during his meeting with Nikos Christodoulides during a stopover at Larnaca airport on Sunday.

When asked if Washington supported the idea, Vedant Patel, Principal State Department deputy spokesperson, said the US “use a number of methods, including trucks and overland routes, as well as aeroplanes and helicopters”.

He added: “We certainly have broadly felt that the provision of aid and any country’s ability to do so to the Palestinian people in Gaza would be a good thing”.

President Christodoulides has proposed that Limassol be used as a humanitarian corridor for aid to Gaza.

His proposal will be presented in Paris at the donor conference for Gaza, which will be held at the Heads of State, Government and Foreign Ministers level.

With the war now entering its second month, United Nations officials stepped up their appeals for a humanitarian pause in the hostilities to help alleviate the suffering in Gaza, where buildings have been flattened, and basic supplies are running out.

Palestinian officials say more than 10,000 people have been killed, 40% of them children.

The level of death and suffering is “hard to fathom”, UN health agency spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva.

There are 350,000 patients with chronic conditions in Gaza, including cancer and diabetes, as well as 50,000 pregnant women, according to data from United Nations organizations, and many are no longer receiving treatment.