Pakistan sends more humanitarian aid to Gaza

Pakistan dispatched a second consignment of humanitarian aid for war-torn Gaza on Tuesday, state-run Pakistan Television has reported. Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani and Palestinian Ambassador to Pakistan Ahmed Jawad Rabi’i, as well as Human Rights Minister Khalil George, saw off a special aircraft carrying 90 tons of hygiene kits, medicines and food packages at Islamabad International Airport.

Expressing Pakistan’s full support and solidarity with the Palestinians, Jilani underlined the urgency of bringing an immediate end to Israeli aggression and lifting the siege of Gaza. Pakistan sent its first consignment of 100 tons of aid to Gaza last month.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto said that Jakarta is ready to send its naval hospital ship to the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Gaza to provide treatment to the victims of Israeli airstrikes. Subianto added that Jakarta is planning to coordinate with countries in the vicinity of the Palestinian Gaza Strip, including Egypt, to obtain approval for sending the vessel. Jakarta shipped over 51 tons of humanitarian aid for Gaza on Saturday.

Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians held a massive rally on Sunday in solidarity with Palestinians facing indiscriminate attacks by Israel. Some Rp 2 billion (around $130,000) was collected in donations during the rally in Jakarta.

The Medical Emergency Rescue Committee based in the Indonesian capital said that the Indonesia Hospital in Gaza is only tending to the sick and has “no involvement with military activities or with any organizations other than medical bodies.” The statement was issued in response to allegations by Israel that the facility was used by Hamas “to launch attacks” against the apartheid state.

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