ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has sent an aircraft carrying 100 tons of relief goods for Gaza, the Pakistani foreign ministry said on Thursday, a day after Israel allowed limited aid to the besieged enclave.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that limited humanitarian aid would be allowed into Gaza from Egypt following a request from US President Joe Biden.
More than 1 million Palestinians, roughly half of Gaza’s population, have fled homes in the north and Gaza City after Israel told them to evacuate. The war that began on Oct 7 after Hamas militants stormed into Israel has resulted in severe shortage of food after Israel cut essential supplies to the enclave.
Pakistan said it was sending humanitarian assistance for its Palestinian brothers and sisters, which would be transported into the besieged enclave via Egypt.
“A chartered aircraft carrying 100 tons of essential medical supplies, tents, and blankets has departed from Islamabad for Egypt this afternoon,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
“From Egypt, these items will be transferred to the people of Gaza.”
Israeli airstrikes continued across Gaza early Thursday, including in areas in the south that Israel had declared as “safe zones.”
The war has become the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said Thursday that 3,785 Palestinians have so far been killed and nearly 12,500 others have been wounded.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed since Hamas militants crossed the heavily fortified border and launched the concerted attack.
