US' Blinken discusses Gaza aid corridor with Greek Cypriot leader

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday met the Greek Cypriot administration leader to discuss a maritime aid corridor to the besieged Gaza Strip.

During a brief stopover at Larnaca International Airport, Blinken and Nikos Christodoulides discussed the Greek Cypriot administration’s proposal to establish a maritime aid corridor, the Greek Cypriot Cyprus News Agency reported.

Blinken's unannounced stopover came ahead of an expected visit to Türkiye as part of his tour of the region.

Early Sunday, the US secretary of state paid a surprise visit to the occupied West Bank, meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Blinken is expected to visit Türkiye early in the week to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip.

According to the UN and Red Cross, an insufficient amount of humanitarian aid is being allowed via Egypt into the Gaza Strip, which has been under a near-total blockade for 30 days.

Over 9,700 Palestinians including 4,800 children and 2,055 women have been killed in Israeli bombardments since Oct. 7, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Nearly 1,540 Israelis have been killed.