Today-Apr 24
To help people affected by the ongoing war in Gaza, the Singapore Red Cross has, for the first time, sent volunteers to Egypt to oversee and help with the delivery of US$600,000 (S$815,000) in humanitarian aid there. Eight of them will be in Egypt from April 22 to 28. They will help in procuring food supplies and packing them to be sent to Gaza, among other duties. An operations coordinator — also a volunteer — will be stationed there for about two months to oversee the activities. The supplies are part of the charity’s third tranche of aid for displaced persons living in refugee camps in North Sinai, Egypt — located close to the Gaza border — and to people in Gaza, the charity said on Wednesday (April 24). Food parcels will be distributed to those in need along the Gaza strip, with the help of Red Cross counterparts the Egyptian and Palestinian Red Crescent societies. Speaking to the media at its office on Wednesday, Singapore Red Cross’ chief executive officer Benjamin William said that the team is made up of volunteers with “years of experience” who are adaptable and have gone through training to handle different scenarios such as natural disasters and earthquakes. He also said that there are several challenges in providing aid in Gaza. First, the crisis has been extremely unpredictable, as is the number of trucks allowed to enter Gaza to deliver aid. There are also limits to what volunteers can do on the ground since they are unable to enter Gaza. This is unlike in other crises or disasters, where the Singapore Red Cross can deploy volunteer teams to provide medical aid and water sanitation. The war between Israel and militant group Hamas entered its 200th day on Tuesday, after an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel last October that killed 1,170 people. At least 34,183 people in Gaza have died since Israel launched a military offensive in retaliation, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Read more at: https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapore-red-cross-sends-9-volunteers-egypt-gaza-relief-work-s815000-worth-aid-2409826
