Egypt’s Minister of Social Solidarity Nevine el-Qabbag yesterday met with Netherlands Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Geoffrey van Leeuwen, to discuss aid for Gaza.
During the meeting, van Leeuwen said following his visit to Rafah Crossing Wednesday that the Netherlands is making a further €25 million available for humanitarian aid for Gaza.
The above sum will be allocated for food, water, medical supplies and fuel for electricity and heating. A sum of €15 million will be spent on aid given by the Red Cross and Red Crescent, and the remaining €10 million will be distributed through the UN’s Palestinian relief agency, van Leeuwen added.
This comes on top of €25 million already pledged by the Netherlands for Gaza in addition to its 2023 budget of €51 million for development co-operation and humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people, he said.
Since the start of the Israeli war and blockade on Gaza on October 7, the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) has delivered 68,000 tons of aid to Gaza, the minister said.
Egypt has also facilitated the entry of 9,500 tons of aid from Arab countries to Gaza, the minister added.
The minister also referred to ERC efforts to facilitate the delivery of aid offered by the UN and other countries.
The meeting also examined means to facilitate aid deliveries to the Strip.
Half of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents are starving as Israel continues an all-out blockade on the strip since the war began, allowing only a trickle of the aid, according to UN estimates.
Three-quarters of the population of Gaza has been internally displaced as Israeli airstrikes and bombardments have destroyed 61 percent of housing stock in Gaza.
