New Delhi: Former Vice President of India Hamid Ansari on Sunday said that the relief aid By India to Gaza should have been sent earlier.
"It is a good thing and should have been done earlier," Ansari was quoted by PTI as saying. The ex-vice president's remark comes on a day when India's humanitarian assistance to Palestine reached Egypt.
The IAF C-17 aircraft took off from Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad with nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material including life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, water purification tablets among other necessary items.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier spoken to Palestine President H.E. Mahmoud Abbas and conveyed his condolences for the loss of lives in the hospital attack in Gaza City. Modi had also assured humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine.
“Spoke to the President of the Palestinian Authority H.E. Mahmoud Abbas. Conveyed my condolences for the loss of civilian lives at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza. We will continue to send humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people. Shared our deep concern about the terrorism, violence and deteriorating security situation in the region. Reiterated India's long-standing principled position on the Israel-Palestine issue”, the prime minister had posted on social media platform X.
"The Indian annual contribution to UNRWA was increased from USD 1.25 million to USD 5 million in 2018. India has pledged an annual contribution of USD 5 million for the next two years (FY 2023-24 and FY 2024-25)", external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday.
More than 4,741 Palestinians have been killed and 15,898 wounded in the retaliatory Israeli strikes on Gaza since Hamas carried out coordinated strikes on Israel on October 7.
A new convoy of 17 aid trucks entered war-torn Gaza on Sunday as Israel continued attacks on the Palestinian enclave which is going through a dire humanitarian situation in the war.