Malta to send humanitarian aid to Gaza, as Prime Ministers calls for permanent ceasefire

Malta’s Civil Protection Department is coordinating the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza as part of a European effort to deliver vital supplies.

At their headquarters in Hal Far, CPD personnel are packing food, water and medical supplies in a container that will be transported to Egypt from where it will cross into Gaza.

The Palestinian territory is facing a humanitarian catastrophe after Israel invaded and blockaded the enclave. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed and thousands of others displaced.

Israel sent troops into Gaza in retaliation to attacks on Israeli territory by Hamas militants last October that left almost 1,200 Israelis dead and took couple hundred hostage back to Gaza.

Visiting the CPD operation in Hal Far, Prime Minister Robert Abela reiterated Malta’s call for a permanent ceasefire.

“Malta will continue to advocate for dialogue and peace… we will continue voicing our stand in every forum outside Malta because it is for the good of humanity,” Abela told CPD personnel as he thanked them for their ongoing humanitarian work.

Abela was accompanied by Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri and Palestinian Ambassador to Malta Fadi Hanania.

The Israeli army has been sweeping through the Palestinian territory, bombing whole neighbourhoods in an attempt to destroy Hamas.

More than a million Palestinians displaced from their homes are crowded in Rafah, a city along the Egyptian border. Israel has warned it will attack Rafah with humanitarian organisations fearing this will lead to a bigger humanitarian tragedy.