SINGAPORE — To help people affected by the ongoing war in Gaza, the Singapore Red Cross has, for the first time, sent volunteers to Egypt to oversee and help with the delivery of US$600,000 (S$815,000) in humanitarian aid there.

Eight of them will be in Egypt from April 22 to 28. They will help in procuring food supplies and packing them to be sent to Gaza, among other duties.

An operations coordinator — also a volunteer — will be stationed there for about two months to oversee the activities. 

The supplies are part of the charity's third tranche of aid for displaced persons living in refugee camps in North Sinai, Egypt — located close to the Gaza border — and to people in Gaza, the charity said on Wednesday (April 24).

Food parcels will be distributed to those in need along the Gaza strip, with the help of Red Cross counterparts the Egyptian and Palestinian Red Crescent societies.

Speaking to the media at its office on Wednesday, Singapore Red Cross' chief executive officer Benjamin William said that the team is made up of volunteers with "years of experience" who are adaptable and have gone through training to handle different scenarios such as natural disasters and earthquakes. 

He also said that there are several challenges in providing aid in Gaza.

First, the crisis has been extremely unpredictable, as is the number of trucks allowed to enter Gaza to deliver aid.

There are also limits to what volunteers can do on the ground since they are unable to enter Gaza. This is unlike in other crises or disasters, where the Singapore Red Cross can deploy volunteer teams to provide medical aid and water sanitation.

"I've been in the Red Cross now for more than 10 years. This is one of those cases where the operations become very unpredictable," Mr William said.

"Things change from day to day — one day you're optimistic, the next day you're pessimistic. That is why we have invested a bit... into putting a team on the ground."

FOOD, MEDICAL AID

The war between Israel and militant group Hamas entered its 200th day on Tuesday, after an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel last October that killed 1,170 people.

At least 34,183 people in Gaza have died since Israel launched a military offensive in retaliation, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

On Wednesday, the Singapore Red Cross said that its latest tranche of aid includes about US$400,000 in food supplies for displaced persons in North Sinai, Egypt and food parcels for Gaza.

Some of the funds will be used for an emergency humanitarian kitchen in North Sinai that provides hot daily meals for 35,000 displaced people, or about 7,000 families, and medical evacuees in temporary shelters run by the Egyptian Red Crescent Society. 

The rest of the funds will be used by the Singapore Red Cross to procure food items to be packed and sent to Gaza.

These items — which include rice, pasta, flour, oil, tuna and more — will support more than 45,000 people, or about 9,000 families, for five to seven days. 

The Red Cross will buy these items from suppliers in Egypt to reduce the third-party and administrative costs incurred, Mr William said.

He added that the Red Cross has not allocated a set amount for the food-related initiatives so that the charity can adjust the aid provided depending on the circumstances — pointing to a backlog of trucks carrying aid into Gaza as an example of a hurdle.

He estimated that there were at least 1,500 trucks with aid waiting to enter Gaza from Egypt.

The charity will also spend US$200,000 to buy medical supplies requested by hospitals in Gaza and the Palestine Red Crescent Society. These include first-aid items, pulse oximeters and blood pressure monitors.

These supplies will be bought in Singapore and delivered to Egypt because there is a high demand for certain medical supplies in Egypt.

When asked about the sustainability of the assistance, Mr William told the media that the charity works closely with the Egyptian Red Crescent Society to ensure resources are well-deployed.

He added that donations are crucial to allow the Singapore Red Cross to provide aid in Gaza, noting that the third tranche supporting 80,000 people is a "drop in the ocean" when more than 1.7 million people have been displaced by the ongoing war.

The Singapore Red Cross had sent US$200,000 in food and medical supplies for Gaza last October.

In November, it sent another US$100,000 of humanitarian goods to the Egyptian Red Crescent Society. A Singapore Red Cross staff member was also deployed to Cairo to coordinate the aid effort.

"With more funds, we can do more. Humanitarian aid needed will continue increasing, especially with the winter months to come," Mr William said.

To donate to the Singapore Red Cross' efforts for Gaza, visit redcross.sg/gazaresponse.