Ireland sends emergency shelter supplies into Gaza
Ireland has provided 50 tonnes of relief supplies for people in Gaza.
Some 50 tonnes of relief supplies for the people of Gaza have been sent under Ireland’s Rapid Response Initiative.
Tents and tarpaulins will be distributed to 1,500 families within Gaza in partnership with Trócaire and the Catholic Relief Services.
The airlift supplies left the UN's Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) in Dubai this afternoon, 15th December, and arrived in Al Arish airport in Egypt.
The items, which are worth €250,000, will be brought into Gaza for distribution as soon as access allows.
Announcing the airlift, Tánaiste Micheál Martin TD said: “This vital aid will be provided to Palestinians who have lost their homes and been displaced by the ongoing Israeli bombardment.
"Nearly 85 per cent of the population of Gaza are estimated to be internally displaced, with UN shelters in the central area and south sheltering nine times their intended capacity.
“The people of Gaza are enduring dire conditions. It is unacceptable that humanitarian relief is being kept from those who desperately need it. The situation is beyond comprehension and it simply cannot continue. There must be an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.”
Minister of State for International Development and the Diaspora, Seán Fleming T.D., added:
“This airlift is part of Ireland’s humanitarian response to the ongoing crisis in Gaza. It signals our ongoing commitment to help the people of Gaza, who desperately need food, water, shelter, fuel and medical supplies."