Israel-Hamas conflict: India sends medical aid, disaster relief material to Palestine

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, October 22

Even as Palestinian casualties kept mounting on the fifteenth day of the war between Israel and Hamas, an IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departed on Sunday for the El-Arish airport in Egypt.

The material includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, water purification tablets among other necessary items, said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

The aid comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas. While conveying his condolences at the loss of civilian lives at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza, Pm Modi also told Abbas that India will continue to send humanitarian assistance for the Palestinians.

India has supported Palestine and Palestinian refugees through $29.53 million in contributions to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) between 2002 and 2023. New Delhi under the Modi Government stepped up its annual contribution to UNRWA from $1.25 million to $5 million in 2018. It has again pledged an annual contribution of $5 million each for the next two fiscals as well.

The announcement of aid comes a day after a small convoy of trucks entered Gaza with humanitarian supplies. New Delhi’s position mirrors that of the US. In his first tweet after the brutal Hamas attack on Israel, PM Modi had expressed solidarity with Israel and called the assault a terrorist attack, just like the US did. Now, it has followed the US in providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians while the Foreign Office offered support for a two-state solution. The departure is in that India has also called for direct negotiations.

The Indian approach departs from that taken by the other members of the BRICS. The Russian and Chinese positions are known; South African President Cyril Ramaphosa “pledged solidarity with the people of Palestine’’ and Brazilian President Lula’s Workers Party condemned the “unacceptable attacks, killings, and kidnappings of civilians carried out by both Hamas and the State of Israel’’.

PM Modi’s prompt tweets were welcomed by Israeli Ambassador to India Naor Gilon who noted that the Indian PM was “among the first in the world (who) came out and tweeted very clear condemnation. We will not forget that.’’

He further said that “after speaking to PM Netanyahu, PM Modi sent out another strong tweet…Many people including offered support…it’s amazing…. This wide and strong support is unprecedented for me. The closeness between India and Israel can’t be explained in words.’’

🇮🇳 sends Humanitarian aid to the people of 🇵🇸!

An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departs for El-Arish airport in Egypt.

The material includes essential life-saving medicines,… pic.twitter.com/28XI6992Ph

— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) October 22, 2023