India on Sunday sent the second batch of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip amid the escalating war between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists that has killed more than 12,000 people so far. Announcing the development on X, (formerly Twitter) external affairs minister S Jaishankar said India “continues to deliver humanitarian assistance to the people of Palestine”.
“Second @IAF_MCC C17 aircraft carrying 32 tonnes of aid departs for the El-Arish Airport in Egypt,” he added.
The El-Arish airport is nearly 45km away from the Rafah crossing on Egypt’s border with Gaza. Notably, Rafah is the only crossing point for any humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
On October 22, India sent the first batch of around 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the Palestinians suffering amid the war. The aid included essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, and water purification tablets among other necessary items.
Israel has stepped up its massive retaliatory strikes on Gaza as the war entered its seventh week following the Hamas’ October 7 attack in which over 12,00 Israelis were killed.
Gaza’s largest hospital a ‘death-zone’
Gaza’s largest hospital – Al-Shifa – has been struggling to keep operating and has become a focus point of the war. The Hamas health ministry in Gaza said that dozens of people have died at the hospital due to power cuts caused by fuel shortages.
On Saturday, Israel ordered an evacuation of the hospital immediately – two days after the Israeli troops combed the hospital facility for Hamas hideouts and claimed to have uncovered a Hamas tunnel shaft and a vehicle with weapons inside the complex. Amid this, a team led by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other UN officials visited the hospital for an assessment, following which WHO claimed that the place has become a “death zone”.
While several patients were evacuated, a UN team on Sunday said that around 291 patients, including 32 babies in critical condition were left at the hospital.
