The war-torn Gaza Strip has received the tenth shipment of humanitarian relief goods from Pakistan as part of its increased aid to the victims of Israeli aggression. The shipment was organised in collaboration with the Al-Khidmat Foundation along with assistance from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to alleviate the dire need for some much-needed medical supplies in the beleaguered region.

According to a statement issued just recently by the Press Information Department of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Pakistan, the consignment is headed its way. So, some 40 tons of medical supplies would appear to be being flown out from Jinnah International Airport in Karachi aboard a chartered A300 aircraft intended, at least in the first instance, for Jordan but which should then go on to Gaza.

The new aid package sums up to a total of assistance brought by Pakistan to 1,151 tons, thus underlining the nation’s commitment towards the people of Gaza during this humanitarian crisis. Leaders attending the shipment ceremony include MNA Dr Darshan and representatives from NDMA and Al-Khidmat Foundation, who repeated the significance of international solidarity and humanitarian aid.

Coming at a time when Israeli forces continue their onslaught in Gaza, onslaughts that have seen the worth of thousands of Palestinian lives lost short, at least 11 Palestinians have been reported killed by Israel after strikes across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, local health officials say. Targeted areas included several ones, such as Beit Lahiya in the north, where a school housing displaced Palestinians was hit, killing four civilians and injuring others. The Israeli forces said the school was the command centre of Hamas fighters.

Militants attacked residential areas in Gaza City, Nuseirat, and Khan Younis: Casualty figures mounted an already tide of civilian victims of the attack. Israel’s military moved further to confirm that it had discovered and destroyed an underground tunnel network near civilian areas in central Gaza, saying it, too, was used for Hamas operations.

This has resulted in devastating effects for 2.3 million people in Gaza; more than 41,500 Palestinians have reportedly been killed since fighting began, according to local health authorities. Most, though, have been displaced, thus worsening the humanitarian crisis.

It has also shifted part of its military focus towards Lebanon, attacking Hezbollah recently. The attack came at a time when the head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, had been killed by an Israeli airstrike. Pakistan continues to assure and commit itself to every effort and diligence in terms of providing humanitarian aid and steps forth to its stand in solidarity with the sufferings brought about by the recent violence.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains unabated amid International concern. The International Court at The Hague delivered its verdict against Israel, holding the country guilty of genocide and urging an immediate halt to these operations alongside humanitarian relief being made available to the civilians. The legal options notwithstanding, the battle rages on, and supplies of aid remain grossly deficient to meet the needs of people in Gaza.

As the relief operations continue to churn in Pakistan, the international community must supply more aid to lighten the suffering of the innocents caught up in the chaos.