JHCO dispatches 45 tonnes of aid to Gaza despite generator restrictions to strip

AMMAN — No generators have been permitted to enter the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war, the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO) Secretary General Hussein Shibli said on Tuesday.

Despite the challenges at hand, the organisation in partnership with the UK-based relief charity Human Appeal International on Tuesday has dispatched an aircraft loaded with 45 tonnes of vital supplies to address urgent needs in Gaza.

This joint effort involves partnerships with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF), and security agencies, in coordination with Egypt to ensure effective delivery, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The aid includes different types of medicines, medical supplies, food items and clothes, to be transferred to the Egyptian Red Crescent at El Arish Airport and subsequently delivered to Gaza through the Rafah border crossing. 

“Aid operations are facing challenges... generators and large medical appliances such as X-ray machines are not permitted into the beleaguered strip and essential equipment have been absent from aid convoys,” Shibli added.

Shibli emphasised that such provisions are essential for humanitarian purposes and are urgently needed to sustain critical infrastructures that are on the verge of collapse.

“So far we were able to provide medical supplies and equipment, medicine, garment and textile items, food and ready-to-eat meals,” he noted.

Shibli reiterated the organisation’s commitment to alleviate the suffering of the people of Gaza, stressing that the organisation is in constant contact with relevant authorities in Gaza for ensuring that most critical emergency aid is delivered amid the escalations of the war on the strip.   

In the Gaza Strip, airstrikes and a lack of medical supplies, food, water and fuel have virtually depleted an already under-resourced health system. Hospitals have been operating far beyond capacity due to rising numbers of patients as well as displaced civilians seeking shelter. The provision of essential health services, from maternal and newborn care to treatment for chronic conditions, has been severely compromised, according to WHO website.