Doha News was aboard a Qatari aid plane for Gaza on Saturday along with influencer Ghanim Al Muftah, who was greeted by Qatari diplomat Lolwah Al Khater.
Qatar has evacuated 89 Palestinians holding Qatari residency from the besieged Gaza Strip late on Saturday, after Israel unleashed a relentless bombing campaign killing 21,022, including over 8,000 children.
The Palestinians were evacuated by a Qatari Armed Forces plane. The Qatari mission went ahead through the city of El Arish in Egypt, in coordination with the North African country.
The evacuation marked a significant step in Qatar’s ongoing commitment to humanitarian aid in the besieged enclave, where Palestinians face a relentless Israeli bombardment.
Also on Saturday, Qatar’s efforts reached new heights as two aircraft from the Qatar Armed Forces touched down in El Arish.
The aid planes, carrying a total of 62 tonnes of crucial aid, including food supplies and shelter equipment, were dispatched by the Qatar Fund For Development, the Qatar Red Crescent Society, and Qatar Charity.
Doha News was aboard one such Qatari aid plane, carrying over 19.8 tonnes of the Saturday aid delivery along with young Qatari philanthropist and influencer Ghanim Al Muftah who came in person to show his solidarity with Palestinians.
Al Muftah was greeted by Qatar’s Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lolwah Al Khater, the first high-ranking Arab official to enter the besieged Palestinian enclave since the start of the Israeli assault.
There, Al Muftah along with Qatari official Al Khater visited wounded Palestinians receiving medical care at the El Arish Hospital in northern Sinai.
The aid delivered on Saturday brought the total of Qatari aid flights to Gaza to 35, contributing a total of 1,192 tonnes of humanitarian aid. All of Qatar’s distributions have landed in Al Arish where they then get transferred to the joint Rafah crossing in Egypt awaiting entry.
Qatar had successfully mediated a temporary truce that began on November 24 and was renewed twice before ending on Friday morning, lasting a total of seven days.
Doha has said efforts to renew the lapsed truce are ongoing, and that ultimately the mediating country is looking to secure a permanent ceasefire.
Immediately after the expiration of the truce on Friday, Israel resumed its bombing of the Gaza Strip and has so far killed more than 200 Palestinians.
Around 1.7 million people, or close to 80 percent of Gaza’s total population, are displaced from their homes.
The Israeli bombing campaign on Gaza has given rise to a dire humanitarian crisis, with an impending threat of mass starvation and hunger looming over Palestinians.
The relentless violence has disrupted essential services, as Palestinians rely on contaminated water sources, with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) warning that their lack of access to proper sanitation and hygiene, waterborne diseases will inevitably spread.
