SINGAPORE - The Singapore Red Cross (SRC) is committing an additional $400,000 to humanitarian efforts in Gaza in response to the escalation in hostilities that began on March 18.
In a statement on March 27, it said that the funds will be used for emergency health services, primary healthcare, mental health support and relief efforts. The money will also support the operations of a 60-bed field hospital that delivers life-saving trauma and essential medical care to 200 people daily in Rafah, Gaza Strip.
An operations coordinator, Mr DS Vickram, will be deployed to Cairo for two weeks starting from April 13 to facilitate humanitarian aid movement from Egypt to the Gaza Strip, and oversee on-the-ground functions.
Mr Benjamin William, Secretary-General and chief executive officer of the Singapore Red Cross, said that the deployment “enables SRC to provide more targeted and responsive interventions, ensuring that humanitarian aid is timely, relevant and impactful for the most vulnerable”.
Israel resumed strikes on Gaza on March 18, effectively ending the two-month-old ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Over 830 people have been killed in the enclave since hostilities resumed between Israel and Hamas, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
SRC previously committed $300,000 worth of relief supplies, including food parcels, hygiene kits and medical supplies, in response to the Jan 19 ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
SRC’s current fund-raising appeal will run until April 30, and members of the public can donate online at https://redcross.sg/donate-gazacrisis. Donations through cheque or PayNow can be done at http://redcross.sg/gazacrisis.
The SRC said that to date, it has disbursed close to $1.5 million worth of humanitarian aid, such as medical supplies, hygiene kits, food provisions, water filtration systems, and food parcels, through its partnership with the Egyptian Red Crescent Society.
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