[NY Post] Israel will ease its maritime blockade of Gaza for the first time since 2007 by allowing relief ships to get to the war-torn Palestinian region through a third country, Cyprus, Israeli officials said Sunday.
The Jewish state, bowing to mounting international pressure over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as Israel continues its war against Hamas terrorists, said the move could occur instantaneously.
"It can start immediately," Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told 103 FM radio in Tel Aviv, adding that Israel won’t allow the aid to go directly through its ports but will retain control over what is shipped to Gaza.
"That’s the goal of the process," he said.
Israel’s naval blockade was put in place 16 years ago when Hamas took control of the Palestinian enclave in the Gaza Strip.
Supplies have trickled into Gaza during the current conflict, largely from Egypt.
The new maritime supplies would be received in the port of Larnaca in Cyprus, where Israeli agents would inspect the goods, which would then be shipped to the Gaza coast.
England, France, Greece and the Netherlands have been among the countries pushing the Jewish state to allow supplies to reach Palestinians in crisis during Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip, with the United Nations also demanding aid to the region. 
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