BRUSSELS (Palestine Foundation Information Center) President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Thursday, confirmed the need for the Gaza Strip to receive a minimum of 500 trucks or their equivalent in aid daily.
In a post on the “X” platform, von der Leyen stated that the maritime corridor for transporting humanitarian aid to Gaza must be part of a continuous effort to increase the flow of aid to Gaza through all routes, including expanded land routes.
During his “State of the Union” speech on March 8, US President Joe Biden announced that he had instructed the military to establish a temporary port near the coast of Gaza, noting that more humanitarian aid would enter Gaza by sea through the port.
On the same day, President of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, announced during a joint press conference with President of the European Commission Von der Leyen, the imminent opening of a maritime passage for the transportation of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
In another development, Arab and Western ministers issued a statement on Thursday stating that there is no alternative to land routes for delivering aid to Gaza. The statement emphasized that land routes through Egypt and Jordan, as well as the crossings between Israel and Gaza, are the best alternative for delivering aid on a large scale.
The joint statement, published by the US Department of State on its website, followed a ministerial meeting attended by foreign ministers of the United States, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus, and Britain, in addition to the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič.
The statement stressed that Israel should necessarily open additional crossings to facilitate the delivery of more aid to Gaza, especially in the northern part of the Strip, and to ease customs restrictions to facilitate the increased flow of life-saving humanitarian aid.
The statement affirmed that the opening of the Ashdod port for humanitarian aid would be welcomed and would complement the ongoing work to establish the maritime corridor.
The attending ministers also discussed the possibility of establishing a joint fund to support the maritime corridor for delivering aid to Gaza and to coordinate material and financial contributions to sustain its operations.
US Secretary of State, Blinken, announced in a press conference on Wednesday that maritime operations to deliver aid to Gaza are not sufficient and that Israel should open additional land crossings to ensure the permanent delivery of aid.
In the same context, the US military announced on Wednesday that some of its ships are heading to Gaza to establish a temporary port for delivering humanitarian aid to the besieged territory.
With the arrival of the holy month of Ramadan this year, the residents of the Gaza Strip, especially in northern Gaza, are on the verge of famine due to severe shortages of food, water, medicine, and fuel. This is compounded by the displacement of over two million Palestinians from the Strip as a result of the brutal war waged by Israel on Gaza for the sixth consecutive month.
