Senior officials from the countries involved in the discussions are scheduled to head to Cyprus next week for more talks on activating the corridor, including the U.S. military planning.

Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and top European officials discussed the latest developments in Gaza on Wednesday, as Doha and several other countries concluded a meeting on establishing an aid maritime corridor.

The discussions with Sheikh Tamim took place in separate phone calls with the President of the European Council Charles Michel and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

In a statement, Amiri Diwan said both calls dealt with “the key regional and global developments, particularly the situation in the Gaza Strip and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”

The discussions came as Qatar took part in a virtual meeting with the European Commission, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and Cyprus over establishing a maritime corridor to deliver aid to Gaza.

Qatar’s Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Khulaifi, represented the Gulf state at the meeting, according to the final communique.

In the joint statement, the parties stressed that: “There is no meaningful substitute to land routes via Egypt and Jordan and entry points from Israel into Gaza” for the delivery of aid.

“The ministers also agreed that opening Ashdod port to humanitarian assistance would be a welcome and significant complement to the corridor,” the statement added.

Senior officials from the countries involved in the discussions are scheduled to head to Cyprus next week for more talks on activating the corridor, including the U.S. military planning, according to the statement.

The upcoming talks will also take on “the possibility of establishing a common fund” to support the maritime corridor.

“The ministers underscored the need for Israel to open additional crossings so more aid can reach Gaza, including the North, and to ease overall customs restrictions to facilitate an increased flow of life-saving humanitarian assistance,” the statement said.

The meeting came after Qatar confirmed on Tuesday its plans to join countries financing the entry of aid via the sea corridor. 

On March 8, U.S. President Joe Biden directed the military to establish a temporary port in the Mediterranean on the coast of Gaza to enable the delivery of aid. Biden noted that the U.S. will not deploy its troops to the area.

The first ship left the Larnaca port in Cyprus to Gaza on Tuesday, carrying around 200 tonnes of food aid for Gaza, U.S.-based charity, World Central Kitchen (WCK), announced. WCK is among the key entities involved in the maritime aid mission.

The newly proposed aid mechanism comes as Israel continues to tighten its grip over the flow of aid into Gaza as it persists in its genocidal war on the 2.2 million population. 

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed at least 31,272 Palestinians while displacing more than 80 percent of the entire population.

Death as a result of severe malnutrition and dehydration has been on the rise, especially in the north where Israel prevents aid and aid workers from reaching the area.

As of 12 March, at least 27 people, including 23 children, have died due to malnutrition and dehydration in Gaza, according to Palestine’s news agency (Wafa). The figure has likely gone up as hunger continues to ravage the population.

Attacks on Palestinians seeking aid have also continued since the first reported incident on February 29, where Israel killed more than 100 people.

On Wednesday, Israeli forces killed six Palestinians after shooting people gathered at the Kuwait roundabout, south of Gaza City, to receive aid, Wafa reported.

Meanwhile, mediators including Qatar have continued their efforts in hopes of achieving a ceasefire in Gaza under a climate of cautious optimism. 

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari told CNN on Tuesday that negotiators are “nowhere near a deal at the moment.”

“However we are working day and night to make sure that we have the right ideas going across between both sides,” he added.