1st planeload of Indian aid sent for Palestinians
Sandeep Dikshit
New Delhi, October 22
Even as Palestinian casualties continue to mount in the war between Israel and Hamas, an IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departed on Sunday for the El-Arish airport in Egypt.
The material includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, water purification tablets among other necessary items, said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
The aid comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas. While conveying his condolences at the loss of civilian lives at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza, PM Modi also told Abbas India would continue to send humanitarian aid for the Palestinians.
India has supported Palestine and Palestinian refugees through $29.53 million in contributions to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) between 2002 and 2023. New Delhi under the Modi government stepped up its annual contribution to the UNRWA from $1.25 million to $5 million in 2018. It has again pledged an annual contribution of $5 million each for the next two fiscals.
The announcement of aid comes a day after a small convoy of trucks entered Gaza with humanitarian supplies. New Delhi’s position mirrors that of the US.
In his first tweet after the brutal Hamas attack on Israel, PM Modi had expressed solidarity with Israel and called the assault a terrorist attack, just like the US did. Now, it has followed the US in providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, while the Foreign Office offered support for a two-state solution. The departure is in that India has also called for direct negotiations. The Indian approach departs from that taken by the other members of the BRICS. The Russian and Chinese positions are known; South African President Cyril Ramaphosa “pledged solidarity with the people of Palestine” and Brazilian President Lula’s Workers Party condemned the “unacceptable attacks, killings, and kidnappings of civilians carried out by both Hamas and Israel”.
Modi’s tweets were welcomed by Israeli Ambassador Naor Gilon who noted the Indian PM was “among the first in the world (who) came out and tweeted very clear condemnation”.
Relief material in consignment
Life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, water purification tablets among other necessary items
143 fly out of Israel under ‘Op Ajay’
A special flight carrying 143 persons, including two Nepalese citizens and four infants, wanting to leave Israel amidst the Hamas war, left for India under ‘Operation Ajay’ on Sunday. This is the sixth such flight since October 12, when the operation was launched by India. pti
