Dutch to send aid ship to Cyprus as Rutte meets Netanyahu

The Netherlands said Wednesday it was sending a navy ship to take humanitarian goods to Gaza "when possible", as Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte held talks with his Israeli counterpart.

The coastal patrol vessel MS Holland will leave in mid-November and be near Cyprus by the end of the month, a Dutch navy official said.

"It's actually to pre-position the ship in case humanitarian aid or evacuation is necessary," Alex Kranenburg told AFP.

Thousands of people have died in the Israel-Hamas conflict, set off by the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel, and the besieged Palestinian territory is critically short of food, water, medicine and fuel.

Kranenburg stressed no decisions had been taken on the ship's role, saying an international level" decision would determine whether aid would enter Gaza by land or sea.

Cyprus has been seeking support for a maritime corridor to deliver aid Gaza from the eastern Mediterranean island.

President Nikos Christodoulides has said Cyprus -– the nearest EU member state to the Gaza Strip –- was "ready to play a substantial role".

Israel says 1,400 people were killed and 240 people taken hostage when Hamas attacked on October 7. The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 10,500 people have been killed in Israel's bombing campaign since.

The Dutch prime minister was travelling to Israel for a second meeting with counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in weeks.

After the meeting, Rutte told Dutch media that he had called on Netanyahu to "show that what he is doing is... proportionate".

According to Rutte, Israel does not oppose the sending of humanitarian aid to Gaza "in advance", but does not want the goods used for military purposes.

Rutte had talks with Qatari leaders in Doha earlier Wednesday, and told Dutch broadcaster that these meetings had "raised a certain number of questions" that he wanted to ask Netanyahu.

Qatar is mediating negotiations between Israel and Hamas for the potential release of 10-15 hostages held in Gaza in exchange for a short ceasefire, a source briefed on the talks told AFP.

"We spoke about the hostages, who have been held by the terrorist organisation Hamas for weeks now," Rutte said on X, the former Twitter.

"They must be released as soon as possible and reunited with their loved ones."

"The Netherlands is very grateful to Qatar for its efforts to make this possible," Rutte said.

He added he also wanted to discuss the hostage issue with Netanyahu.

During discussions with Qataris a number of "proposals" for short breaks in the Gaza fighting have emerged, Rutte told the Dutch NOS public broadcaster.

This could make it possible to "make progress" in sending aid and releasing hostages, Rutte said.

He declined to give details because of the sensitivity of the talks.