It was not immediately clear which country was supplying the aid, where it would land or how it would be distributed. The source said aid was being coordinated with the UAE.

“They want the aid to be dispatched before the start of Ramadan” on Sunday, the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Delivering aid to Gaza has become urgent as a humanitarian crisis there deepens. Israeli unleashed an offensive following a deadly Hamas raid on Israel on Oct 7, and Gaza health officials say more than 30,700 people have been killed.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said two Palestinians, aged 15 and 72, died of dehydration and malnutrition on Wednesday, raising the toll of such deaths to 20. Reuters could not verify the deaths.

EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was due in Cyprus late Thursday and was to visit on Friday the port of Larnaca, which has been identified as a launch point for aid shipments.

Cyprus lies 370km northwest of Gaza in the Mediterranean and is the closest European Union state to the region.