Iraq
Palestinian rescuers stand on the rubble of a building following an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on October 16, 2023. Photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s top military spokesperson said on Monday that Baghdad was preparing to send a second aid package, mainly consisting of medical equipment, to Gaza.
Yehia Rasool, military spokesperson for the Iraqi prime minister, told Rudaw's Mushtaq Ramadhan that the government was coordinating with Egyptian authorities send the aid and donations to the besieged Gaza Strip.
He added that Iraq had already sent aid to Gaza earlier this month.
Relentless Israeli airstrikes have pounded Gaza in retaliation to a surprize Hamas attack on October 7. According to the enclave’s health ministry, over 8,300 people have been killed in the airstrikes, with almost half of them being children.
The war in Gaza has sparked sympathy across the Arab world where the Palestinian cause has widespread support.
At a peace summit in Egypt last week, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani criticized global failure to support human rights and justice in the conflict. “Palestine stands as a living testament for this recurring failure,” he said.
Earlier this month, Basem al-Awadi, the spokesperson of the Iraqi government had announced that Sudani issued directives to send humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza through the enclave's Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
However, aid has not managed to cross into Gaza due to the ongoing strikes. The United Arab Emirates called for an emergency meeting at the United Nations Security Council to discuss a humanitarian pause in the war to allow for the much-needed aid to enter Gaza. The session is set to resume on Tuesday.
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