Cyprus to press on with maritime aid despite deadly Gaza strike

Larnaca, Cyprus: Cyprus vowed Tuesday to maintain its Gaza maritime aid corridor despite the killing in an Israeli strike of seven aid workers unloadi...

Larnaca, Cyprus: Cyprus vowed Tuesday to maintain its Gaza maritime aid corridor despite the killing in an Israeli strike of seven aid workers unloading the humanitarian assistance in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

"The tragic events should not discourage us. We must double down on our efforts to provide more assistance as the needs dramatically escalate", said Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides at an aid coordination centre in the port city of Larnaca.

Earlier, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis told reporters the deadly strike would not affect the initiative, but that "re-coordination will need to take place" due to security concerns.

The seven workers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity were killed Monday by what the US-based group called a "targeted strike" while they were leaving a warehouse having unloaded aid delivered by ship.

WCK said it had immediately paused its operations in Gaza.