The President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides has told the Financial Times that it was a “moral duty” to pursue the delivery of aid to Gaza via the sea.

Speaking after the first ship carrying humanitarian aid left Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides said that “for the first time in about two decades, the Gaza Strip will be connected to the outside world via its sea border.”

The UK newspaper commented that it took about four months of diplomatic negotiations to convince Israel to agree to this maritime route for aid.

“There’s an operational protocol that we have developed, produced with the Israelis,” Christodoulides explained.

Commenting on the plan, he added: “We felt compelled to try to add the maritime route. It’s our moral duty,” before noting that the initiative “gives flesh and bone to what we always say that we are: an EU member state that is an integral part of the region, a reliable partner.”