Saudi Arabia Continues its Support for UNRWA, Sea Bridge to Follow

A Saudi relief plane arrives in Gaza carrying aid, including food and shelter supplies (SPA)
A Saudi relief plane arrives in Gaza carrying aid, including food and shelter supplies (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Continues its Support for UNRWA, Sea Bridge to Follow

A Saudi relief plane arrives in Gaza carrying aid, including food and shelter supplies (SPA)
A Saudi relief plane arrives in Gaza carrying aid, including food and shelter supplies (SPA)

The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) is providing $15 million to support the first phase of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Emergency Appeal for Gaza.

The KSrelief contribution will cover assistance in the food security, shelter, non-food items, emergency, health, and WASH sectors.

The Center asserted that UNRWA is the only international humanitarian organization capable of providing support on the ground inside the Gaza Strip.

The plan will be implemented immediately through the existing partnership between KSrelief and UNRWA and will address the critical humanitarian conditions and challenges inside Gaza, including the severely restricted access to the area.

According to the statement, the targeted programs will be implemented to ensure that emergency aid and services are provided to affected groups as quickly as possible.

It asserted that Saudi Arabia stands with the Palestinian people and is committed to providing comprehensive humanitarian relief and support to Gaza through the work of KSrelief.

On October 15, Riyadh presented a check for the annual contribution of $2 million from Saudi Arabia to the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini.

The amount constituted Saudi Arabia's scheduled annual contribution to the Agency to enable it to continue providing relief services and food, medicine, and humanitarian needs to the Palestinian people.

For his part, Lazzarini praised the Kingdom for its ongoing support, highlighting that it consistently stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people and supports the Agency in achieving its humanitarian goals.

The Commissioner-General renewed his call for the UN member states and the international community to support the Agency's efforts in assisting the Palestinian people facing critical conditions.

Last week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the launch of a humanitarian appeal to raise $1.2 billion to help 2.7 million Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia dispatched the seventh relief plane from King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh to el-Arish International Airport, Egypt, preparing to transport aid to the affected people inside the Gaza Strip.

Donations to the Saudi National Campaign for Gaza through the Sahem platform, directed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, exceeded SR494 million from over 773,310 donors.

For his part, KSrelief spokesman Samer al-Jutaili revealed that Saudi Arabia will launch a sea bridge to send aid to Gaza.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Jutaili explained that the parties are exerting efforts to mobilize resources through a sea bridge expected to carry thousands of tons of aid within a short period.

The sea bridge will help increase the humanitarian aid, said Jutaili, adding that Saudi Arabia has supported Palestine in the past ten years with up to $5.2 billion.

Palestine was the third country receiving aid from KSrelief with 112 projects at a cost exceeding $369 million.

The spokesman pointed out that Saudi Arabia also provided UNRWA with urgent aid of about $1 billion when it was about to close due to a lack of funding during the past three years.



Saudi Interior Ministry Highlights Successful Efforts at Countering Narcotics

Deputy Interior Minister of Saudi Arabia Dr. Nasser bin Abdulaziz Al-Dawood. (SPA)
Deputy Interior Minister of Saudi Arabia Dr. Nasser bin Abdulaziz Al-Dawood. (SPA)
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Saudi Interior Ministry Highlights Successful Efforts at Countering Narcotics

Deputy Interior Minister of Saudi Arabia Dr. Nasser bin Abdulaziz Al-Dawood. (SPA)
Deputy Interior Minister of Saudi Arabia Dr. Nasser bin Abdulaziz Al-Dawood. (SPA)

Deputy Interior Minister of Saudi Arabia, Dr. Nasser bin Abdulaziz Al-Dawood, said on Tuesday that the Kingdom implemented a comprehensive security campaign that successfully dealt with drug-related crimes.
He said the campaign entailed coordinated security plans involving all concerned parties.
Dawood, who led the Kingdom's delegation to the 2nd Baghdad International Conference on Countering Narcotics 2024 held in Iraq on Monday, stressed the need to strengthen efforts among the participating nations to control the spread of narcotics and to discuss mechanisms to stop drug trafficking.
He emphasized that countering smuggling and drug trafficking fall in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 top priorities.
Dawood highlighted the Kingdom's commitment to dealing with the dangers posed by drugs to the security and stability of society by harnessing national capabilities to raise the society's awareness to this threat.