NICOSIA: The European Commission president says that a charity ship will leave for Gaza Friday as part of a pilot operation to test a new humanitarian sea corridor delivering aid directly from Cyprus to the Palestinian enclave.

Ursula von der Leyen said the EU, together with the US, the United Arab Emirates and other involved partner countries are launching the sea corridor to deliver large quantities of aid to Gaza that faces a "humanitarian catastrophe." She told reporters in a joint news conference with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides that the corridor will open as early as Sunday, preceded by Friday's pilot voyage by the charity Open Arms.