UN officials say maritime corridor to Gaza no substitute for aid delivery by land

Senior UN officials welcomed the opening of a maritime corridor from Cyprus to deliver additional aid to Gaza, but said it could not replace the delivery of humanitarian assistance by land.

"For aid delivery at scale, there is no meaningful substitute to the many land routes and entry points from Israel into Gaza," said UN humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag and UN office for project services executive director Jorge Moreira da Silva.

"The maritime corridor brings, however, much needed additionality and is part of a sustained humanitarian response to provide aid as effectively as possible through all possible routes," they said, as reported by Reuters.

The US announced it would be building a temporary dock on Gaza's coast that would facilitate the delivery of aid into the besieged enclave. The UN has said that aid has been slow getting into Gaza due to Israeli delays, as the people in Gaza face a worsening humanitarian situation. More than 20 people have died from starvation so far.