Gaza humanitarian aid set to sail from Cyprus ahead of Ramadan

Humanitarian aid for Gaza is expected to sail from Cyprus in 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 aid was being coordinated with the United Arab Emirates.

“They want the aid to be dispatched before the start of Ramadan” on Sunday, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Delivering aid to Gaza has become urgent as a humanitarian crisis there deepens. Israeli unleashed an offensive following a deadly Hamas raid on Israel on Oct. 7, and Gaza health officials say more than 30,700 people have been killed.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said two Palestinians, aged 15 and 72, died of dehydration and malnutrition on Wednesday, raising the toll of such deaths to 20.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was due in Cyprus late Thursday and was to visit on Friday the port of Larnaca, which has been identified as a launch point for aid shipments.

Cyprus lies 370 km (230 miles) northwest of Gaza in the Mediterranean and is the closest European Union state to the region.