Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) says the first shipment of the Islamic Republic’s humanitarian aid for Gaza is ready to be sent to the coastal strip.
IRCS director for international affairs Shahabeddin Mohammadi Eraqi said Wednesday that the organization has prepared the aid consignment according to a list of people’s needs provided by the office of Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in Gaza.
The Iranian official announced that Iranian medical teams would no longer be sent to Gaza given a cease-fire has been declared.
Over 160 Palestinians, including women and children, were killed and about 1,200 others were injured in recent Israeli attacks on Gaza from November 14 to 21, 2012.
On November 21, Egypt announced that the Israeli regime and the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, had reached a cease-fire agreement under which the Palestinians and Israelis agreed to end all hostilities.
Mohammadi Eraqi went on to add that the only way to sent the aid shipment to Gaza is via Rafah crossing along Gaza’s border with Egypt, which requires permission of the Egyptian government.
“The Palestine Red Crescent Society announced its needs through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and if we cannot send the humanitarian aid consignment through cooperation with Gaza’s Red Crescent Society, we can send them via this international institution,” the Iranian official added.
The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade since June 2007, which has resulted in mass unemployment, extreme poverty and food price hikes.
The Israeli regime has repeatedly refused to lift the blockade of the Gaza Strip .
