France, UK, Netherlands plan Gaza aid

France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands are formulating plans to ship humanitarian aid to Gaza in an effort to ease Palestinian civilian hardships and relieve strain on the overburdened Egypt-Gaza border crossing.

France's President Emmanuel Macron and Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte first proposed the idea of sea-delivered aid during visits to Israel last week, with the UK also firming up its intentions in a phone call on Sunday between Macron and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, sources told the Financial Times newspaper.

"The sea is, of course, a possibility," Netherlands' Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren told the FT. "We know that the French have already sent one of their vessels for medical aid. Lots of our partner countries, and we also, are in Cyprus with our military."

Discussions are ongoing regarding the specifics of delivering aid via a sea route, and while the plan's realization is not guaranteed, diplomatic efforts continue to focus on facilitating its potential flow through the only non-Israel-controlled crossing, the Rafah crossing with Egypt, according to insiders.

Israel's blockade of Gaza following the Oct 7 Hamas attack has restricted water and power supplies and only 131 trucks carrying essential water, food, and medicine have been permitted through Rafah into Gaza, a drastic reduction from the approximately 500 that entered daily prior to the outbreak of conflict.

A senior UN official said Israel requires all aid trucks entering Gaza from Egypt to first undergo an inspection at Nitzana, in southern Israel, causing delays as supplies are unloaded for inspection, reloaded, and sent back into Egypt, only to be unloaded and reloaded once more onto Palestinian trucks at the Rafah crossing.

Macron spoke on Friday about his plan to join forces with European Union partners to create a "maritime humanitarian corridor", intending to transport injured Palestinians and distribute food and medical necessities in Gaza.

"Cyprus will serve as a rear base for this corridor … and Greece is willing to send equipment, along with any European partners who want to take part in this operation," he said. "It will take some time to work out but there have already been contacts between us and the Israeli authorities about this."

The Associated Press cited a senior Cyprus government official as saying its leader, President Nikos Christodoulides, had pitched the idea to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who "wasn't opposed".

"We want to be ready to start sending aid once a window of opportunity opens," the official said. "Everyone recognizes the need for this corridor and that it is feasible."

Aid agencies have warned that Gaza's residents, under heavy air and artillery bombardment as Israeli forces advance to try to eradicate Hamas in the 40-kilometer-long territory, are trapped in horrific conditions, with the Hamas-run health ministry reporting more than 8,500 deaths since the start of Israel's campaign.

EU leaders last week issued a statement of "gravest concern" and called for "humanitarian corridors and pauses" in the fighting.