NICOSIA: Humanitarian aid for Gaza is expected to leave Cyprus in the coming days, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
It was not immediately clear which country was supplying the aid, where it would land or how it would be distributed. The source said the aid is being coordinated with the United Arab Emirates.
“They want the aid to be sent before the start of Ramadan,” the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
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The delivery of aid to Gaza has become urgent as the humanitarian crisis there deepens. Israel launched the offensive after a deadly airstrike by Hamas on Israel on October 7, and Gaza health officials say more than 30,700 people have been killed.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said two Palestinians, aged 15 and 72, died of dehydration and malnutrition on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 20. Reuters could not verify the deaths.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was due to arrive in Cyprus late on Thursday and was due to visit the port of Larnaca on Friday, which has been designated as the starting point for aid deliveries.
Cyprus lies 370 kilometers northwest of Gaza in the Mediterranean Sea and is the closest European Union state to the region.