Maritime Corridor For Humanitarian Aid And Floating Hospitals For Gaza In Focus At Paris Conference

According to European diplomats, world powers will gather in Paris on Thursday to organise aid and assistance for the injured in Palestine, with the possibility of establishing a maritime corridor, navy medical facilities, and field hospitals being discussed.

A month after Hamas Islamists killed 1,400 Israelis in an attack on Oct. 7, concern is mounting about civilian casualties that have risen as a result of Israel’s retaliatory bombardments, with over 10,000 Palestinians killed and many more injured and forced to abandon their homes.

The meeting brings together regional players such as Egypt, Jordan, and Gulf Arab countries, as well as the Western powers and the members of the G20 (with the exception of Russia).

International organisations and non-governmental organisations with a presence in Gaza are also expected to attend.

The Palestinian Authority is going to be there, but Israel hasn’t been invited, though it will be brought up to date on events.

The overarching goal is to mobilise financial resources and discover means to get supplies into the enclave while simultaneously getting the badly injured out, as Gaza’s medical system is rapidly deteriorating.

Cyprus, the EU member state nearest to Gaza, has proposed a maritime corridor to deliver more aid to Gaza.

It would expand the limited capacity beyond the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, but four diplomats warned the concept is problematic.

Per diplomats, Israeli officials will also want to inspect products arriving at Cyprus’s Limassol port.

Two diplomats added that it would be necessary to clarify who would get the help because there are concerns that it could fall into the hands of Hamas.

According to them, Israel would additionally prefer to vet what assistance was being sent to Gaza and would be opposed to giving the enclave much-needed gasoline.

There are additional technical considerations to consider. Port infrastructure off the coast of Gaza was begun in the year 2016, but it has since been abandoned.

Gaza does not have a suitable harbour for such purposes, stated a senior EU official. It would require constructing a floating marina by a nation with proper navy experience.

If it goes ahead, the mission’s safety must be secured, which may necessitate an interruption in fighting.

In addition to the Cypriot recommendation, diplomats stated France has proposed expanding the corridor to transporting badly injured individuals onto hospital vessels in the Mediterranean, especially off the Gaza coast.

French officials have stated they are discussing the problem with Egyptian and Israeli authorities. Still, the plan is to gather critical mass from several countries and prepare to send ships equipped with essential medical equipment.

Paris is getting ready a helicopter carrier with beds, surgical capabilities, drugs, and personnel for this purpose. It is not predicted to arrive in the area for approximately ten days.

There is talk of bringing a ship with medical capabilities to the humanitarian corridor with France.

On Tuesday, Col. Elad Goren, head of Israel’s Civil Division of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (abbreviated the COGAT), informed reporters.

Efforts are progressing with the French and the Egyptians to build a mechanism to evacuate injured individuals, but it’s still ongoing.

As reported by two diplomats, Italy’s defence minister stated in a letter written to European peers on 3 November that his country is ready to provide a ship prepared with an Intensive Care Unit and surgical capabilities as soon as possible.

But the question is, how would passengers travel from land to ships? First on the ground, through Egypt or Israel? By boat, directly from Gaza? It’s pretty complicated.

In any case, three diplomats acknowledged that hospital vessels were merely a temporary solution, with the goal of eventually establishing field hospitals along the border in Gaza or over on the Egyptian side.

The Egyptians are against having multiple field medical facilities on their side since this could be exploited as a pretence for pushing the Palestinians into Sinai, a diplomatic source said.

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Source: Maritime Shipping News