European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has expressed hope that a humanitarian aid corridor from Cyprus to Gaza will open this weekend, amid fears of famine in the Palestinian territory, AFP reports.

“We are very close to opening this corridor, hopefully this Sunday,” von der Leyen said following a visit to the Cypriot port of Larnaca with Cyprus’s President Nikos Christodoulides.

Her announcement came after US President Joe Biden, in his State of the Union address yesterday, said the US military would establish a “temporary pier” off Gaza’s coast to bring in aid.

Ursula said “an initial pilot operation” would be launched on Friday, and the United Arab Emirates had helped activate the corridor “by securing the first of many shipments of goods to the people of Gaza”.

Von der Leyen said the initial operation would be in partnership with the World Central Kitchen, a US-based non-government organisation that provides meals in the wake of humanitarian crises and national disasters.