Kuwait Red Crescent continues delivery of aid to war-ravaged Gazans

GAZA, Sept 11 (KUNA) -- Kuwait Red Crescent Society's relief team arrived in Gaza on Thursday on a visit, which will last several days, aimed at providing urgent humanitarian assistance to war-stricken families in the Palestinian territory.
The team is on a mission to provide this assistance, which includes humanitarian as well as food aid, to thousands of Palestinian families recently hit hard by the fierce military assault they had been the target of at the hands of Israel.
After travelling from Egypt through Rafah border crossing, the team - led by the head of the mission Khaled Al-Zaid - made several visits, including one to the Kuwait Specialist Hospital in Rafah city.
The Kuwaiti state-sponsored hospital carried out a distinguished role during the war on Gaza.
During their visit of the city the four-member team also witnessed firsthand the scale of destruction inflicted by the heavy Israeli shelling.
They are later expected to later personally carry out the distribution of aid to families in the territory, after which they will carry out an assessment of the needs of several hospitals in order to weigh up how the Kuwaiti government and KRCS can meet these requirements.
On the visit, Al-Zaid said that it was "a small part of the assistance the Kuwaiti people to their brothers in Gaza." He added, "we in Kuwait, since the start of the fierce aggression on the (Gaza) Strip collectively rushed to aid our brothers in this area through donations that have amounted to over KD 4 million (USD 14 million)." He also revealed that His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah dispatched assistance worth USD 10 million to Gaza immediately upon learning of the Israeli offensive.
His Highness the Amir, who was officially honoured by the UN for his contributions to global humanitarian efforts a few days ago, also urged Kuwaitis to give to the cause in an address he made to the public in the holy Muslim month of Ramadan (during August), he added.
On KRCS's role in these efforts, he said that the humanitarian organization has already sent around 40 tonnes of medicine, two ambulances and 200,000 litres of fuel and other forms of assistance to hospitals in Gaza.
His team will meet Palestinian officials to discuss the dispatch of several Palestinians requiring medical attention to Egypt - with all expenses for their treatment paid through a USD 500,000 sum allocated for the initiative.
A group of 14 doctors are also expected to arrive on Friday and will spend 12 days in Gaza during which they will tend to the needs of families in the area.
In addition to this, KRCS has dispatched 10,000 food parcels to people on the ground with another 10,000 expected to arrive soon as it continues to work with local Palestinian health bodies and Egypt to deliver this aid. (end) mzt.sd