European Commission said on Friday a maritime aid corridor could start operating between Cyprus and Gaza this weekend, part of accelerating Western efforts to relieve the humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave.
Ursula von der Leyen's comments came a day after President Joe Biden announced plans for the U.S. military to build a "temporary pier" on Gaza's Mediterranean coast, amid U.N. warnings of famine among the territory's 2.3 million people.
Negotiations on a possible ceasefire in Israel's war against Palestinians, now in its fifth month, remained deadlocked in Cairo, while the U.N. human rights office urged Israel not to extend its military offensive into the border town of Rafah, saying this would cause a further "massive loss of life".
EU Commission President von der Leyen said a pilot test run of food aid collected by a charity group and supported by the United Arab Emirates could be leaving Cyprus.
"We are launching this Cyprus maritime corridor together, the European Union, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States," she said after visiting facilities in Larnaca, Cyprus.
"We are now very close to opening this corridor, hopefully this Saturday-Sunday and I'm very glad to see an initial pilot will be launched today." She gave no details on where the aid would be delivered in Gaza and made no reference to Biden's announcement, in his State of the Union speech to Congress, that the U.S. military would build a "temporary pier" on the Gaza coast to receive ships carrying food, water and medicines.
U.S. officials said building such a facility could take weeks, yet hospitals in northern Gaza are already reporting children dying of malnutrition. The UN says opening up more land routes should remain the priority.
It was also unclear if Israel or other forces would provide security for the temporary facility. Desperate people have increasingly been seizing supplies being trucked into Gaza.
The Palestinian Authority welcomed Biden's comments, but reaction among ordinary Palestinians was much less positive. "Instead of telling us they will build a port to help us, stop (providing) the weapons they throw at us," said Hassan Maslah, a displaced Palestinian from Khan Younis now sheltering in Rafah.
"All these American weapons are killing our kids, and killing us wherever we go. We don't need aid from them, we need them to stop the killing, stop the death," he said, as Gazans sifted through rubble nearby after another Israeli airstrike.
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