National Security Council spokesman John Kerby went on to clarify that the reference to the creation of a maritime corridor to provide greater amounts of humanitarian aid to Palestine is based on ongoing discussions between the US and the Republic of Cyprus.

“I think that the discussion we are having about a possible naval option (in order to deliver humanitarian aid) has to do with the recent discussions about the possible use of Cyprus, for example, in the possible implementation of part of this plan. I don’t want to go into details now. This idea is still at a very early stage. There is a lot of work to be done,” he said during a press briefing.

At this stage, it cannot be considered certain that Cyprus will be called upon to contribute in any way, he stressed.

“I’m just saying that the discussion we’re in now has certainly built on previous discussions we’ve had with partners in the region about what such a plan might look like. But, again, I note that we still have a long way to go and a lot of work on the maritime leg (of the humanitarian corridor) to implement it.”