Egypt has announced that it would send humanitarian aid and $500 million in reconstruction aid to Gaza, where Israeli strikes have killed more than 200 people since May 10, according to Egyptian officials.
“Egypt will provide 500 million dollars for reconstruction in the Gaza Strip after recent events, with Egyptian companies to carry out the work,” said the spokesperson for the Egyptian presidency on Facebook.
The shipment of medical aid worth 14 million Egyptian pounds (890,000 dollars) included 65 tons of surgical supplies, including oxygen cylinders, syringes, antibiotics, and burn ointment, according to Egyptian Minister of Health Hala Zayed on Monday evening.
According to Africanews, 26 trucks of food aid have already arrived in Palestinian territory, and up to 50 ambulances were dispatched to transport the injured.
Israeli bombings on Monday destroyed the Gaza Strip’s only Covid-19 testing clinic and damaged the Qatar Red Crescent’s facilities.
Since May 10, local authorities in this poor and densely populated Hamas-controlled enclave have recorded 213 deaths, including at least 61 children, and over 1,440 injuries in the Gaza Strip, where hospitals are overburdened.
According to the United Nations, almost 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced and 2,500 have lost their homes as a result of the conflict in Gaza.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for its opening on Sunday to allow the transport of wounded to Egyptian hospitals.
The Egyptian Ministry of Health also stated that 11 hospitals, including six in Cairo, have been mobilized to treat the wounded Palestinians, with a total capacity of over 900 beds and over 3,600 doctors and nurses.
After weeks of tensions over a court case to expel many Palestinian families in East Jerusalem, Hamas launched a rocket attack on May 10. The attacks were also in retaliation for violence between Israeli police and Palestinians near the al-Aqsa Mosque during the Holy month of Ramadan.
Over the past week, Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza have launched over 3,000 missiles, according to the Israeli military.
According to Africanews, Egypt, Jordan, and Germany are participating in a mediation process, which is being aided by France.
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