Gaza: Miles of Smiles aid convoy prepares to help healthcare sector

Miles of Smiles announced on Monday that preparations are underway to send a convoy of humanitarian aid to support the healthcare sector in the besieged Gaza Strip. The Egyptian authorities have been approached to facilitate the passage of the convoy through the Rafah Border Crossing.

According to the organisers of Miles of Smiles, consultations have also taken place with the Egyptian Red Crescent and Sons of Sinai Company for the medical aid to be transported to Rafah. The company specialises in such transport arrangements.

Miles of Smiles has called on its partners, including charities and philanthropists, to give generously for the purchase of the urgently-needed medical aid for Gaza. The territory has been under a strict Israeli-led siege for sixteen years, and supplies of medicines, medical equipment and disposables are seriously depleted.

Last week, the Israeli occupation authorities launched a three-day military offensive against the coastal enclave. Forty-nine Palestinians were killed, including 17 children and four women, and 360 others were wounded. Moreover, more than 1,700 housing units were totally or partially destroyed, and civilian infrastructure such as schools and hospitals, as well as water and sewage plants, were damaged.

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