The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) signed a $10 million agreement with the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide more than one million people in Gaza with access to emergency life-saving health services and logistic support.
The agreement was signed via video conference by KSrelief's Assistant General Supervisor for Operations and Programs, Ahmed al-Baiz, and WHO's Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Hanan Balkhi.
The agreement will address the acute shortage of essential medical supplies, medicines, and fuel to support the resilience and work of health facilities in the Gaza Strip and provide medications and basic medical supplies for 40 medical facilities there.
Additionally, the agreement aims to strengthen and supplement the capabilities of health facilities in the Gaza Strip, provide emergency health response, and reduce the number of critical cases and fatalities due to lacking health services, which benefits 456,000 individuals.
The program comes within the framework of the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through its humanitarian arm, KSrelief, to stand with the brotherly Palestinian people amid their suffering, and distress.
Meanwhile, Egypt reiterated the necessity of a ceasefire in Gaza and allowing aid entry.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry affirmed Tuesday his country's firm commitment to sustain the implementation of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip despite the obstacles imposed by the Israeli side.
Shoukry received the UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag.
It is Kaag's first visit to the region after being assigned as the Coordinator under Security Council Resolution 2720. It aims to facilitate, coordinate, and monitor the process of allowing humanitarian aid into the Strip.
Earlier, Cairo established an international mechanism to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza to deal with the tragic humanitarian conditions.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said the discussions between Shoukry and the UN officials addressed the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and assessments related to the deteriorating service work.
The UN Coordinator briefed the FM on her vision to implement the tasks assigned to her and the priorities during the next stage.
The spokesman added that the two sides stressed the inevitability of increasing the flow of humanitarian aid to adequately meet the urgent needs of Palestinians in the Strip, the work of service facilities, hospitals, and relief agencies.
Shoukry referred to Egypt's support in providing facilities, allowing the UN official to perform her duties and ensure the execution of Security Council resolutions, including implementing the UN mechanism to send aid convoys to the enclave.
He asserted that Israel needs to allow and facilitate the work of the Coordinator, reiterating that Security Resolution 2720 realizes that the Security Council members and the international community are aware of the challenges facing aid entry into Gaza.
Israel must facilitate aid delivery and entry into Gaza to end the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Strip, said the Minister.
According to the spokesman, Shoukry asserted the need for the Security Council to assume responsibility for implementing the resolution, including facilitating the use of all available paths to and within the Gaza Strip.
He stressed that achieving a ceasefire remains the best way to end the humanitarian tragedy in the Strip.
For her part, the UN official appreciated Egypt's efforts to provide and deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
She also referred to the diplomatic efforts to push for a Security Council resolution and facilitate the use of Rafah crossing to bring aid and vital supplies to Gaza residents.
An Egyptian security source said earlier that hundreds of trucks carrying aid remain in al-Arish and in front of the crossing due to Israel's obstruction and inspection procedures at the Kerem Shalom and al-Awja crossings.
The source added, according to the Arab World News Agency, that the Rafah crossing remains open and has not been closed at all from the Egyptian side.
Egypt had previously denied Israeli allegations before the International Court of Justice in Cairo, holding it responsible for the lack of sufficient aid entering the Gaza Strip.
According to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, the UN official is scheduled to visit al-Arish Airport and the Rafah crossing as part of coordination efforts with the track to launch the international mechanism concerned with accelerating the aid entry into the Gaza Strip.
Egypt is intensifying its efforts to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip and receive injured Palestinians.
A few days earlier, Cairo confirmed that its hospitals received more than 1,000 injured Palestinians from the Rafah border crossing since last October.
The Palestinian Red Crescent announced Tuesday that it had received 40 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid from the Egyptian Red Crescent through the Rafah border crossing. The trucks contain food, water, relief items, and medical supplies.
Informed sources in North Sinai said that the Rafah crossing received Tuesday 50 injured Palestinians from Gaza for treatment in Egyptian hospitals and 95 foreigners and dual nationals.
