By Penelope Galliou

As the shadow of war falls heavily and beyond the borders of the war zone, in the west, Europe and the US are intensifying diplomatic processes in order to curb the enormous humanitarian consequences of the new conflagration in the Middle East, which are multiplying with each additional day that passes.

Under the pressure of events, leaders from EU member states, regional states, G20 members with the exception of Russia, as well as European institutions represented by the President of the Commission and the President of the European Council, but also international donors, the UN and regional organizations, the Palestinian Authority and non-governmental organizations working in the field in the Gaza Strip. A Conference which is organized at the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron seeking to coordinate a large humanitarian “aid bridge” to the Palestinian enclave.

The Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, will also be present at the proceedings, as an effort is being made to create a sea corridor for humanitarian aid to Gaza, and in such a case Greece and Cyprus could contribute.

According to information, Mr. Mitsotakis is expected to repeat the Greek positions on the condemnation of Hamas terrorism and Israel’s right to self-defense according to International Law, but at the same time to stress that all sides must respect International Humanitarian Law and to underline its growing concern over civilian casualties in Gaza and the need to take concrete measures to prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

The Greek prime minister is expected to make a special reference to the need for humanitarian pauses to allow a continuous flow of aid to the Gaza Strip and to reiterate Greece’s readiness as a country in the region to contribute to efforts to de-escalate and relieve the civilian population.

The prospect of Greece participating, under conditions, in a maritime humanitarian corridor was mentioned by Kyriakos Mitsotakis during his recent interview with Politico, pointing out among other things that “because of our geography, if we can deliver humanitarian aid in an organized way and ensure that this help will reach all those who really need it, we would be happy to do so.”

After all, it is recalled that Greece has already sent humanitarian aid with a C130 through Egypt, while it is in consultation with those involved and with the Republic of Cyprus on the possibility of opening a humanitarian corridor by sea to the Gaza Strip, as it is estimated that the advantage of the sea corridor is that you can pack much more humanitarian aid in a ship compared to a truck. Consequently, as the Greek Prime Minister himself stated in Politico “if the logistics work out and such a perspective is really convenient, rather than transporting humanitarian aid by plane and then loading it onto trucks, if such a thing is feasible and can be done with the greater security, I would be very happy to participate in such an initiative”.

In the morning, Kyriakos Mitsotakis is meeting with the Prime Minister of Palestine, Mohammad Ibrahim Stayeh, to whom he is expected to repeat the Greek position that Hamas is a terrorist organization that does not represent the Palestinian people and that the only legal representative of the Palestinians is the Palestinian Authority. He will repeat Greece’s firm position for a two-state solution in accordance with UN resolutions