Japan to provide $10M in aid to support civilians in Gaza

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) – Japan will provide $10 million in aid to support civilians in the Gaza Strip, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa announced on Tuesday.

The aid is aimed at addressing the humanitarian crisis resulting from the ongoing armed conflict between Israel and Hamas, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.

"We will keep making diplomatic efforts to improve humanitarian access so that necessary assistance, such as food, water, and medical and health services, will be provided to innocent civilians and Palestinian refugees," Kamikawa said.

The aid would be distributed through international institutions, he added.

Earlier on Monday, Japan opposed a resolution proposed by Russia calling for a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza at the UN Security Council meeting on Palestine.

Only China, Gabon, Mozambique, and the United Arab Emirates supported Moscow's resolution.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Foreign Ministry announced that "Japan decided to dispatch Ambassador UEMURA Tsukasa, Special Envoy for the Middle East Peace, to Egypt, Jordan and Qatar from 18 to 22 October."

Ambassador Uemura "will meet and exchange views with senior officials of these countries on the situation surrounding Israel and Palestine," the ministry added.

Eleven days into the conflict with Palestinian group Hamas, Israel's bombardment and blockade of the Gaza Strip has continued, with over one million people displaced – almost half of Gaza's total population, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

The fighting began when Hamas on Oct. 7 initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea, and air. It said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased violence by Israeli settlers.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

At least 2,808 Palestinians, including 750 children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, while the death toll from such Israeli attacks in the West Bank has reached 60.

More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed in the armed conflict.