Singapore delivers 7th tranche of humanitarian aid for Gaza

SINGAPORE: Singapore has delivered a seventh tranche of humanitarian aid for Gaza, with a Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) plane carrying 9 tonnes of supplies landing in Jordan on Wednesday (Feb 12).

The RSAF A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport, carrying a shipment of medical, food and hygiene supplies from the Ministry of Health (MOH), Relief SG, Mercy Relief, and Caritas Humanitarian Aid and Relief Initiatives Singapore (CHARIS), took off from Changi Air Base on Wednesday morning, said the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in a joint statement.

Senior Minister of State for Defence Zaqy Mohamad is in Amman, Jordan to deliver aid via the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO), MINDEF said in a separate news release on Wednesday night.

He was received by members of the Royal Jordanian Air Force, Jordanian Armed Forces and JHCO.

The Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF) Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Coordination Centre led efforts to coordinate and consolidate humanitarian aid from agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). 

"I would like to thank the servicemen and women of the SAF for providing support for this mission. They have displayed professionalism and commitment and represent a symbol of compassion from Singaporeans for the affected Palestinians in Gaza," said Mr Zaqy.

He also thanked the Jordanian authorities for their support.

SAF planners are in Amman to assess the "needs and feasibilty of other avenues of contribution to alleviate the humanitarian situation in Gaza, such as the deployment of medical teams", said Mr Zaqy.

The senior minister of state also visited the JHCO warehouse to better understand the operations of the charity team and how Singapore's aid will be delivered to Gaza.

He will meet with JHCO's secretary-general, Dr Hussein Al-Shebli, to discuss opportunities to deliver further aid for affected Palestinians.

"The Ministry of Defence and the SAF are closely monitoring the developments following the multiphase ceasefire and hostage release agreement for Gaza, which has paved the way for increased delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza," said the ministry.

It added that it is assessing how to work with international partners and stakeholders to further support humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian enclave.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023, Singapore has sent seven tranches of humanitarian assistance for Gaza, totalling over S$19 million (US$14 million).

Last month, Singapore handed over its sixth tranche of aid to Gaza, totalling about S$1.3 million.

The send-off ceremony in Singapore was attended by Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Mr Zaqy, as well as Jordan’s ambassador to Singapore Samer Anton Naber and Singapore’s non-resident ambassador to Jordan Shamsher Zaman.

Singapore’s representative to the Palestinian Authority Hawazi Daipi and representatives from participating NGOs were also present.

“Singapore may be far away, but we do what we can to help,” said Dr Balakrishnan.

“This reflects compassion from the diversity across Singapore society. We are grateful that we can, in our own small way, make a difference to the lives and health of our brothers and sisters of Palestine.”

Dr Balakrishnan also thanked the Jordanian government and Jordan’s King Abdullah for facilitating the delivery of the aid supplies.

“We would not have been able to deliver recurrent tranches of humanitarian assistance without our very close network and partnership with our friends in the Middle East,” he said.

“We hope that through the humanitarian assistance that we provided, especially with the coming month of Ramadan, will bring relief to the Gazans, the Palestinians, who are affected by the current humanitarian crisis,” said Mr Zaqy, who is also Senior Minister of State for Manpower.

Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed to a ceasefire on Jan 19 after nearly 16 months of war.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Tuesday that the truce would end if Hamas did not continue to release the hostages it had agreed to under the terms of the ceasefire.

“We hope that in this window, when the truce still holds, that these supplies will be able to reach the civilians who so desperately need it,” said Dr Balakrishnan.

MINDEF and MFA said Singapore will continue to work closely with its partners in the region as well as local NGOs to support the pressing humanitarian needs in Gaza.

“Certainly, we are watching very closely the various developments out in the Middle East, and we hope that there can be lasting peace, and that a resolution and reconstruction of Gaza is possible,” said Mr Zaqy.