The AECID’s Humanitarian Office delivered the medical supplies in response to a request from the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population “to replenish and increase stocks of clinical and hospital material to, among other demands, attend to the wounded [Palestinians] who have been evacuated from the [Gaza] Strip to Egyptian soil,” according to a press release by the AECID.
The shipment included oxygen concentrators, defibrillators, electrosurgical units, vital signs monitors, and electric stretchers. It was received in Cairo by representatives of the Ministry of Health, the EU Delegation, the Spanish Embassy and the Spanish Cooperation Office in Egypt.
The AECID said that Egypt, as the only entry point for aid and land communication with Gaza, is a key player in the region.
“With this donation and in cooperation with the EU, Spain supports Egypt’s role as a facilitator of humanitarian aid in the crisis,” the press release read.
Egypt has allowed injured Palestinians and patients in need of specialized medical care to enter through Rafah and receive medical treatment in Egypt since 1 November. At the time of the crossing’s opening, Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported that over 15,000 individuals who were injured in Israeli airstrikes crossed for treatment.
Spain has been undertaking efforts to end the humanitarian crisis taking place in Gaza as a result of Israel’s bombing campaign which has destroyed homes, schools, refugee camps, hospitals, and basic infrastructure in the Gaza Strip since Hamas’ attacks on 7 October.
On 24 November, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to discuss developments in Gaza.
Following their meeting with Sisi, the two prime ministers held a joint press conference at the Rafah crossing, calling for a permanent ceasefire and decrying the dire humanitarian conditions.
Sanchez called the situation in Gaza “a humanitarian catastrophe” and said that “humanitarian aid must be delivered in a steady manner.”
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