• Emergency humanitarian kitchen for daily hot meals to 7,000 families; Food parcels for more than 9,000 families; Medical supplies for hospitals in Gaza
• 1-volunteer operations coordinator on long-term mission to Egypt to coordinate SRC’s response;
• 8-person team deployed to assist in the ongoing relief operations

Singapore, 24 April 2024 – In response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, the Singapore Red Cross (SRC) is sending its next tranche of support, valued at USD$600,000, to assist the affected communities. The SRC will collaborate with the Egyptian Red Crescent Society (ERC) to:

Provide vital food support (USD$400,000) through the Emergency Humanitarian Kitchen and delivery of food parcels. Located in North Sinai, the Emergency Humanitarian Kitchen aims to  provide daily hot meals for at least 7,000 displaced families and medical evacuees in temporary shelters run by the ERC, in the first phase. The close proximity of North Sinai to the borders of Gaza reduces logistical challenges and facilitates prompt delivery of warm meals for the affected. On top of that, SRC will also be procuring supplies for food parcels, containing basic food items like rice, pasta, flour, salt, oil, tuna, tomato paste, biscuits and jam. The food parcels will be transported into Gaza and able to support more than 9,000 families for a period of 5 to 7 days. SRC will be working closely with the ERC to procure these food items directly from suppliers in Egypt.

Mr Benjamin William, Secretary General/CEO of Singapore Red Cross, noted, “An estimated 1.5 million people have sought refuge in Rafah, with children, women and men living with the pain of hunger. Some families have to share just one can of food every 48 hours and live in a constant state of stress and fear, wondering when their next meal will be. Our Humanitarian Kitchen and food parcels are a practical yet significant initiative by our donors - the people of Singapore, to play a part in addressing the severe hunger crisis in Gaza.”

Procure medical supplies for hospitals in Gaza (USD$200,000), which includes medical consumables such as first aid items, blood pressure monitors, pulse oximeters, finger splints, nebulizer sets and other urgently needed medical items requested by the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and hospitals in Gaza. Due to a high demand of certain medical supplies in Egypt, the SRC will directly procure them in Singapore and deliver them directly to Egypt, which would then be transported to Gaza where the PRCS will distribute them to hospitals in Gaza.

Bolster ERC’s relief operations with the deployment of SRC volunteers, including an operations coordinator to be stationed in Egypt for 1 to 2 months to oversee the coordination of SRC’s response activities. This is the second of such long-term deployment that SRC has activated in Egypt to ensure that our humanitarian response efforts are well-coordinated. The first long-term deployment took place last year from October to November, where a staff was deployed to coordinate SRC’s first tranche of support worth USD 200,000. The operations coordinator for the second deployment will monitor and share the latest updates, which would shape future response activities, and coordinate the short-term deployment of 8 SRC volunteers from 22 to 28 April. The team will be involved in the sourcing of food supplies and packing of the food parcels, and other relief items destined for Gaza. If the opportunity arises, the volunteers may visit programmes and operations organised by ERC for Gaza, including the Humanitarian Kitchen, as well as any other humanitarian initiatives for Gaza taking place within Egypt.

Mr Benjamin William, Secretary General/CEO of the Singapore Red Cross, re-emphasised, “The protection of civilian lives, along with hospitals, medical personnel and humanitarian workers, remain crucial. All parties involved are urged to honour their obligations as outlined in the international humanitarian law. It is imperative for all parties to acknowledge and facilitate unimpeded access to critical humanitarian aid into Gaza to reach all the affected communities, including those displaced.” 

For the last six months, countless families, individuals and communities have been torn apart by this crisis. Hostilities have remained intense with heavy clashes taking place throughout the Gaza Strip and have significantly increased in the southern part of the Strip. There has only been relentless human suffering. The human toll of the ongoing hostilities in Gaza and their ramifications throughout Israel and the Palestinian Territories is immense. Over 34,000 people have been killed or wounded, with thousands more reported missing or detained. Over 1.7 million people have been displaced, many of them repeatedly. In Gaza, people continue to struggle to meet even their most basic needs for food, water, shelter and health care; people have reportedly died of malnutrition and dehydration.

Critical infrastructure and the health system in Gaza has collapsed, residential neighbourhoods have been reduced to rubble. In the West Bank, settlement expansion, settler violence, destruction of property, and restrictions on movement and use of land continue to increase, threaten Palestinians’ safety and their ability to sustain their livelihoods and access essential services, and have a negative impact on the economic situation there. Access, security and logistical constraints and the near-total breakdown of law and order, make humanitarian actors’ ability to deliver a response commensurate to the vast scale of people’s needs in Gaza nearly impossible.

Serving as the main consignee of all incoming humanitarian assistance into Al-Arish destined for Gaza, the ERC has been a pivotal force in providing vital aid to those in need. As of March 2024, ERC has facilitated the transfer of more than 14,000 trucks, carrying urgently needed relief supplies including food, water and medical items into Gaza through the overland borders. At the forefront of their operations are also the establishment of the Humanitarian Service Points and a dedicated humanitarian hub in al-Sabil. These facilities provide essential shelter and support for the families of the medical evacuees and those unable to return to Gaza. The ERC has been orchestrating numerous medical evacuations to ensure that those in critical condition receive the urgent medical attention. ERC’s commitment to deliver humanitarian aid continues to make a significant impact on the ground.

The PRCS has been at the forefront of the response to the immediate needs of the affected population in Gaza amidst ongoing challenges. Since the escalation of the conflict in October 2023, PRCS has been instrumental in providing more than 18,000 people with first aid services, evacuated more than 6,000 fatalities to safe areas, served nearly 200,000 individuals through its community health activities, and provided Psychosocial Support for more than 60,000 people.

To date, PRCS has set up 13 camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs), working with partners like the ERC to ensure that food parcels, non-food items, hygiene and dignity kits are distributed to these IDPs on a regular basis. During the Ramadan period, PRCS also provided Iftar hot meals to more than 680,000 people. As of the time of this press release, the PRCS’ relief assistance has reached an estimated 250,000 families, comprising almost 1.4 million individuals.

While the needs of the population in Gaza remains extensive, the ERC and PRCS have been working closely with various humanitarian partners to deliver humanitarian assistance to the affected population.