Venezuela's Maduro pledges 30 tonnes of aid to Gaza, Palestine
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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro tells his Palestinian counterpart that Caracas would be sending humanitarian aid to Palestine.
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A Palestinian woman kisses the kafan-covered body of a child killed during an Israeli airstrike, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, outside al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza Strip, occupied Palestine (AP)
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in a recent conversation with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, announced Venezuela's commitment to provide 30 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
This pledge reflects Venezuela's solidarity with the people of Gaza and their long-standing diplomatic relations with Palestine.
The aid, which includes essential supplies like food and medical equipment, will help alleviate the ongoing crisis created by the Israeli occupation's blockade on the Gaza Strip, even pressing for a humanitarian corridor that would help the local population.
On social media platform X, Maduro condemned what he called "indiscriminate attacks on the civilian population by Israel, causing thousands of deaths and injuries," which he said crossed "the line of respect for international humanitarian law."
Hoy domingo #15Oct conversé telefónicamente con el Presidente de la Autoridad Nacional Palestina, Mahmud Abbas, sobre la terrible situación en la Franja de Gaza, luego de los ataques indiscriminados a la población civil, por parte de Israel, ocasionando miles de muertes y… pic.twitter.com/hddkuAUDR5
— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) October 15, 2023
The two leaders agreed on the need for an immediate ceasefire in the area and for a humanitarian aid corridor to be opened for Gaza, the Venezuelan President added.
Maduro said the two had reviewed initiatives from countries including China and Egypt to convene a global conference for peace and "the re-establishment of international legality."
This comes after a similar sentiment was echoed from across the border, wherein Colombian President Gustavo Petro denounced the genocide committed by Israeli occupation forces against the people of Gaza and called for a United Nations special session.
On Sunday, the President announced his intention to send humanitarian aid from Colombia to Gazans, whom he announced are suffering "under a cruel siege exacerbated by the Israeli aggression."
Petro demanded that healthcare workers be protected and stressed that such attacks be condemned by the European Union, stressing the need for the EU to uphold international law.
The Colombian President also emphasized the need to protect the minimal "living requirements in Gaza," stressing that the United Nations General Assembly should hold a special session.
Read next: Aid for Gaza stuck in Egypt with Rafah crossing closed
In response to Petro's stances, "Israel" decided to stop security exports to Colombia after what they dubbed as "hostile and antisemitic statements" against "Israel" made last week by the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, as per the Israeli Foreign Minister.
Petro had previously stated that the only way for "Israeli children to sleep in peace is for Palestinian children to sleep in peace."
On his part, Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz said Sunday that the decision to renew water supplies to parts of southern Gaza was agreed on between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden, highlighting the latter's complicity in the oppression of the people of Gaza.
With this move, the Israeli occupation is trying to drive the Palestinian people from northern Gaza into its South in a bid to empty the Strip's north in preparation for a ground invasion that would take the lives of thousands of people were it to take place.
This comes after the Israeli occupation army said in a statement that 1.1 million people living in northern Gaza must evacuate within the next 24 hours, hinting at plans to start a much-feared ground invasion of the devastated Strip that has been under nonstop bombing since last Saturday.
The Israeli occupation, as it pushed people out of northern Gaza, struck the convoys of civilians fleeing the territory.
Responding to the Israeli announcement, earlier, the United Nations warned that over a million people fleeing into southern Gaza would be "impossible" to take place, sounding the alarm on "devastating humanitarian consequences.”
"The United Nations strongly appeals for any such order, if confirmed, to be rescinded avoiding what could transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation," the UN said in a statement.
