A C-130 carrying humanitarian aid for civilians in the Gaza Strip has arrived at El Arish Airport in Egypt.
At the airport was the Greek ambassador to Egypt, Nikos Papageorgiou, who welcomed the mission.
Άφιξη στο αεροδρόμιο El Arish Αιγύπτου C-130 με φορτίο 🇬🇷 ανθρωπιστικής βοήθειας για άμαχους της Γάζας
Υποδοχή από τον Πρέσβη της Ελλάδας στην Αίγυπτο
Η βοήθεια περιλαμβάνει φαρμακευτικό & ιατρικό υλικό που συγκεντρώθηκε με μέριμνα των Υπουργείων Εξωτερικών και Υγείας pic.twitter.com/n8p5XTPA6p
— Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών (@GreeceMFA) November 6, 2023
C-130 aircraft with cargo of 🇬🇷 humanitarian aid destined for the civilians of the Gaza Strip arrived at El Arish Airport in Egypt. Mission was welcomed by the Ambassador of Greece to Egypt pic.twitter.com/3BTkE13idB
— Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών (@GreeceMFA) November 6, 2023
The aid includes pharmaceutical and medical materials collected by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health.
At the same time, consultations and efforts continue to open a humanitarian corridor by sea (as soon as possible), and Athens-Nicosia-Paris are on an open line. This is an initiative of Greece, Cyprus, and France in coordination with international organisations, especially the UN and Israel.
It is recalled that for our country, the protection of civilians and the opening of corridors of solidarity for the transfer of beneficial and practical aid to civilians is an essential and top priority.
"For Greece, the dead have no nationality," the Minister of Foreign Affairs George Gerapetritis stated.
In an interview with the Greek newspaper “Vima”, Gerapetritis dismissed that the two countries are competing as regards the issue of the proposal to open a sea humanitarian corridor to Gaza.
"I am in daily contact with Cypriot diplomacy and the Cypriot Foreign Minister," he said.
He explained that this is an initiative of Greece, Cyprus, and France in coordination with international organisations, especially the United Nations, but also with Israel.
Referring to the technical difficulties of a humanitarian corridor to Gaza by sea, Gerapetritis said that special conditions are needed to ensure safety guarantees to allow a ship to sail there.
“We are still in discussions to ensure immediate, beneficial, and effective humanitarian assistance to the affected civilians in Gaza," he said.
Furthermore, the Greek Foreign Minister reiterated that the Cyprus issue is important for Greek foreign policy.
As he suggested, it is a common understanding of the Cypriot government too that improving Greek-Turkish relations could only be positive for the Cyprus issue," the minister said.
“Greece maintains its position on the solution of the Cyprus problem within the framework of the UN Security Council resolutions on a bizonal bicommunal federation. The dialogue should continue, and the Turkish Cypriot side should join it," he said.
"We will continue to raise the Cyprus problem both in international organisations and on every other occasion, and we hope we will have a much more productive discussion shortly," Gerapetritis underlined.
In this context, he also referred to the upcoming Supreme Council meeting in Athens, which will be attended by the President and Ministers of the Republic of Cyprus and will discuss a number of issues, mainly of bilateral nature.
Thousands rally in Athens against Israeli attacks on Gaza
Thousands of people of all ages rallied on Sunday in Greece’s capital against Israel’s intensifying attacks on Gaza, which are causing the civilian death toll to soar.
Organised by the major trade union PAME, the rally in Athens was attended by members of workers' unions from various sectors, left-wing parties and organisations, and the Palestinian community in Greece.
The crowd, which carried Palestinian flags and banners condemning Israel’s indiscriminate attacks and the policies of the West toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, chanted “Freedom for Palestine,” “No Submission to Imperialism,” “The Only Superpower Is People” and “Murderer Israel” and marched to the Israeli embassy after listening to protest songs by a number of singers in Syntagma Square.
The number of Palestinians killed in Israeli bombardments in the Gaza Strip has risen to 9,770, the Health Ministry in the blockaded enclave announced Sunday.
“The death toll as a result of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 is 9,770, including 4,800 children and 2,550 women,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Israeli army has expanded its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since the Palestinian jihadist group Hamas launched a cross-border attack against Israel on Oct. 7.
READ MORE: Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis Criticizes Western Complicity in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
