WeeklySA_AdminCONFLAGRATION: The humanitarian aid organisation said it had approached the companies that the organisation dealt with regularly to purchase these essential items…
By WSAM Reporter
South Africa’s humanitarian group Gift of Givers has said its teams were visiting hospitals in the Gaza Strip to deliver essential medical assistance to individuals injured in the ongoing escalation of conflict in the Middle East.
The organisation said Israeli airstrikes in Gaza had resulted in the tragic loss of hundreds of civilian lives and the displacement of thousands of people fleeing to save their lives. The Palestinian people requested urgent assistance from the Gift of the Givers, the organisation said.
It added: “Hospitals are facing critical shortages of beds, medical supplies, and medicines due to the high number of casualties. Immediate requirements include medicines, consumables, medical equipment, transport to hospital, fuel for hospital generators, hygiene kits, clothing, towels for patients, food parcels for families of the deceased and those in distress, and purchase and delivery of chronic medication.
Meanwhile, in her opening remarks during an official visit to Zambia today to meet her counterpart Stanley Kakubo, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor said: “We meet at a time when the world is experiencing grave escalation of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The carnage and senseless destruction of property as well as the untold pain and suffering should be condemned unreservedly.
“These events remind us of our own suffering in the hands of apartheid machinery and therefore we call for an immediate end of hostilities and unconditional provision of medical supplies and humanitarian aid. It has therefore become more urgent that the relevant United Nations resolutions and decisions are fully executed to ensure peaceful co-existence between Israel and Palestine for sustained peace. In this regard, our struggle is not complete if the people of Palestine are not free” the Minister added.
Gift of the Givers said it had approached the companies that the organisation dealt with regularly to purchase these essential items. Civilians had also given vouchers to purchase food and non-food items where available.
Those wanting to participate in assisting the Palestinian people can make a deposit to Gift of the Givers: Standard Bank, Pietermaritzburg, Account number 052278611, Branch Code 057525, ref: Palestine Zakaah/Lillah/Sadqa. NO Section 18A will be issued.Other main developments linked to the Israel-Palestine conflict were: Here is the situation on Saturday, October 21, 2023:
Latest developments
- Aid trucks were expected to cross Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza into the besieged enclave any time in the coming hours.
- Israel kept up heavy bombardment of targets throughout Gaza overnight after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to “fight until victory” following the release of the first two captives by the enclave’s ruling Hamas group.
- The released American captives, Judith Raanan and her daughter Natalie, were abducted by Hamas during its October 7 attack on southern Israel.
- Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, freed the hostages “for humanitarian reasons” after Qatari mediation efforts, its spokesman Abu Ubaida said earlier today.
- Israel’s “complete siege” of the enclave continued and it has said that this will not be lifted unless Israeli hostages are freed.
- The death toll in Gaza has risen to more than 4,200, and 70 percent of the dead are women and children. More than 13,000 people have been injured.
- About 1,400 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas attacks on October 7, and more than 4,000 people have been injured.
- Israel has also called on its citizens to immediately leave Egypt and Jordan, and to try and avoid travelling to other regional countries, as tensions flare over its war in Gaza.
- An estimated 200 Israelis, including 30 teenagers and young children and 20 people over the age of 60, were being held captive in Gaza, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan said yesterday, citing military sources.
- An international conference dubbed the Cairo Peace Summit in Egypt was geared begin Saturday morning, to discuss ways to “de-escalate” the Israel-Hamas war.
- Two diplomats said it was unlikely there would be a joint statement from the gathering because of sensitivities around any calls for a ceasefire, and whether to include mention of Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel and Israel’s right to defend itself.
- UK’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it was important that the conflict between Israel and Hamas didn’t escalate to the wider Middle East.
- Clashes on Israel’s border with Lebanon and attempted attacks by Iranian-backed forces elsewhere have fuelled fears of a spill-over, particularly if a ground offensive proves bloody.
- Protests are also taking place around the Middle East with thousands of demonstrators protesting against Israel’s actions in Gaza. Today people from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Qatar, Yemen and the West Bank took to the streets.
In a statement yesterday headlined “Children in Gaza desperately need lifesaving support”, UNICEF called for donations, adding children and families urgently need humanitarian assistance and protection.
UNICEF said its teams and partners were on the ground in the war-torn area, adding that hundreds of thousands of children and families “are caught in a catastrophic situation”.
UNICEF added: “Over a week into the war, more than a thousand children have reportedly been killed and thousands more injured. Children and families in Gaza have practically run out of food, water, electricity, medicine and safe access to hospitals, following hostilities and cuts to all supply routes.
UNICEF is calling for an immediate ceasefire and for humanitarian access to allow for much needed aid. In all wars, it is children who suffer first and suffer most. Children in Gaza need lifesaving support – every minute counts”. – ADDITIONAL REPORTING: AL JAZEERA AND OTHER NEWS AGENCIES
