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Palestine proposes opening Cyprus-Gaza maritime humanitarian corridor

In view of the dire humanitarian situation in the enclave, Mohammad Shtayyeh called on the UN to "airdrop humanitarian aid to Gaza"

DUBAI, November 13. /TASS/. The Palestinian authorities have proposed that a maritime humanitarian corridor be opened between Cyprus and the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said.

"We demand that a humanitarian corridor to Gaza be opened as an alternative to the Rafah crossing [on the border with Egypt]," the Al Hadath TV channel quoted him as saying. "We proposed opening a maritime humanitarian corridor between Cyprus and the Gaza Strip," the prime minister added.

In view of the dire humanitarian situation in the enclave, he called on the UN to "airdrop humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Focusing on the healthcare situation in Gaza, Shtayyeh said Israel was guilty of war crimes. "Strikes on hospitals, leaving them without fuel are nothing short of a war crime," the prime minister said.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and has been delivering rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some districts in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.

At least 22 hospitals and 49 medical centers have stopped operations in the enclave as a result of Israeli strikes, the Gaza Strip government press office said late on Sunday. A total of 35 hospitals are located in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Red Crescent Society spokeswoman Nibal Farsakh said earlier. On November 8, Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila told Sky News Arabia that all hospitals in the south of the enclave continued to function. Humanitarian aid is delivered to Gaza exclusively through the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt.