The ministry of external affairs announced on Tuesday that India's first tranche of assistance has been sent to Palestine amid its ongoing conflict with Israel.
A total of 30 tons of humanitarian assistance has been dispatched to Palestine through United Nations Relief and Works Agency, comprising essential medicines, surgical supplies, and high-energy biscuits.
“India sends humanitarian assistance for the people of Palestine through UNRWA. The first tranche of assistance comprising 30 tons of medicine and food items has departed today. The consignment includes a wide range of essential medicines and surgical supplies, dental products, general medical items and high-energy biscuits,” said external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
Earlier in July, India released the tranche of USD 2.5 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), as part of its annual contribution of USD 5 million for the year 2024-25.
India has reiterated its firm and enduring commitment to resolving the Palestine issue through peaceful means, backing a negotiated “two-state solution” that aims for the formation of a “sovereign, independent, and viable” Palestinian state living in harmony with Israel.
Israel and Hamas have been waging war since gunmen from the Palestinian militant group in the Gaza Strip stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and capturing 253 hostages, by Israeli tallies.
{{/usCountry}}Israel and Hamas have been waging war since gunmen from the Palestinian militant group in the Gaza Strip stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and capturing 253 hostages, by Israeli tallies.
{{/usCountry}}Israel responded with a military offensive in Gaza in which more than 41,500 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza health authorities.
Nearly the entire population of 2.3 million people in the enclave have been displaced from their homes and much of the territory has been laid to waste.
The Gaza war is the bloodiest episode yet in a protracted conflict between Israelis and Palestinians that has rumbled for seven decades and destabilised the Middle East.
Recent weeks have also seen a dramatic escalation in a related conflict across Israel's border with Lebanon, where the Iran-backed armed movement Hezbollah says it is fighting in solidarity with the Palestinians.