Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides announced yesterday that Cyprus and Israel are close to reaching an agreement to open a humanitarian aid corridor from the Mediterranean island directly to Gaza. Under the plan put forward by Nicosia, aid would be collected, inspected and stored in Cyprus, and then sent to the Gaza Strip on ships checked daily by a joint committee including Israel, reported AFP. The vessels would be accompanied by warships to a designated spot identified on the coast of Gaza, from where the aid would be sent to a safe, neutral area.