Egyptian Minister of Social Solidarity and Vice-President of the Egyptian Red Crescent Nevine el-Qabbaj met on Friday Mr Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and his accompanying delegation.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip and mechanisms for making available humanitarian and relief aid in a sustainable and safe manner.
Minister Qabbaj reviewed the Egyptian efforts provided to the people of the Gaza Strip to alleviate human suffering to which the Palestinians are exposed.
The two sides welcomed the announcement of a four-day truce in the Gaza Strip.
The minister of social solidarity reviewed the efforts of the Egyptian Red Crescent to deliver aid and humanitarian missions in coordination with the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The efforts resulted in the delivery of 30,000 tonnes of relief and humanitarian aids to the Gaza Strip, of which Egypt’s share amounts to about 16,000 tonnes.
Egypt has provided the lion’s share of relief aid to the Gazans since the outbreak of the crisis earlier last month, Qabbaj said.
Contributions from international organizations stood at about 10,000 tons, she said, pointing to the efforts of Egyptian civil society and the National Alliance for Civil Development Work in providing aid to the Palestinians under siege.
Qabbaj stressed that the Egyptian state had received the wounded and injured people coming from Gaza for treatment in Egyptian hospitals.
Hospitals in Al-Arish and Cairo also received newborn Gazan children, as 28 babies were transferred to Egypt via the Rafah Border Crossing, in coordination with the World Health Organisation (WHO).
For his part, the UNRWA commissioner-general confirmed that he visited the Gaza Strip a few days ago, adding that the situation there is the worst ever, as there are thousands of displaced people who have left their homes and do not even have clothes, cover, or even a piece of bread.
Mr Philippe Lazzarini appreciated the Egyptian role in delivering humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza Strip.
Concluding the meeting, the two sides agreed on the importance of continuing close coordination to alleviate the deteriorating humanitarian conditions experienced by Palestinians, and the necessity of increasing humanitarian and relief aid entering the Gaza Strip during the truce period.
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