Cyprus says temporary port for Gaza aid could be ready in April
A temporary harbour announced by the United States for the coast of the devastated Gaza Strip to provide additional aid to civilians could be operational in April, Cypriot Preisdent Nikos Christodoulides said on Thursday, citing a US delegation.
US President Joe Biden announced on March 8 that the US army and its partners would set up a floating dock off sealed-off Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is considered to be catastrophic more than five months into the fighting between Israel and the Palestinian extremist organization Hamas.
The port will mainly consist of a temporary pier that is to allow for hundreds of additional truckloads of aid each day, as Gaza itself does not have a port that is deep enough for larger freighter vessels.
Initially, the pier, which is being built by the US army, was to be finished by May 1.
Its earlier deployment would contribute to "increase humanitarian aid to Gaza," Christodoulides told Cypriot radio station RIK.
The Cypriot port city of Larnaca is located only some 400 kilometres from Gaza by sea, but despite Nicosia's efforts, only 200 tons of aid has been delivered to Gaza from the port since the war broke out following the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on Israel.
In mid-March, a ship operated by Spanish aid organization World Central Kitchen reached the coast of Gaza with a platform loaded with food and sanitary products in tow.
Since that first delivery via sea, another vessel loaded with some 500 tons of aid has been stuck in the port of Larnaca. According to Cypriot government sources, its departure is currently being delayed by strong winds and swells off Gaza.
