Iran urges Red Cross to send prompt aid to Gaza

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has called on the Red Cross to mobilize all the resources at its disposal to send urgent humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

In a Monday telephone conversation with President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Peter Maurer, Zarif warned against the critical situation in Gaza and the imminent humanitarian catastrophe in the area.

He pointed to the difficulties in sending humanitarian aid to Gaza due to the blockade of the coastal sliver and underlined the necessity for an international campaign to send food and medicines to the area.

Zarif also underscored the need for coordination between Iran and the Red Cross to send prompt humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Iran’s first planeload of humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip has been dispatched to Cairo and awaits transfer permit via the Rafah border crossing.

Egypt prevents the delivery of essential supplies and entry of medical teams to Gaza and refuses to allow Palestinians injured in the Israeli attacks to enter the country through Rafah crossing.

The Palestinian death toll from 21 days of aerial and ground assaults on Gaza now stands at about 1,050, with more than 6,200 people injured.

The Tel Aviv regime confirms that 43 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the Gaza war. However, al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, says Palestinian resistance fighters have killed around 100 Israeli soldiers.