By Ibrahim Khazen
CAIRO (AA) – The Egyptian army dispatched a new shipment of medical aid to Lebanon on Sunday amid Israeli air and ground attacks on the country.
A military statement said a plane loaded with tons of medical aid was sent to Lebanon “to help alleviate the unprecedented suffering caused by the current Israeli military operations.”
It said the aid was dispatched “upon orders from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to provide support and assistance to Lebanon.”
Since the onset of Israeli attacks on Lebanon, various countries and international organizations have sent aid to Lebanon, including Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Canada, France, and the UK, along with assistance from the European Union and the World Food Program.
Israel has launched massive airstrikes on Lebanon against what it calls Hezbollah targets, killing more than 1,180 victims since Sept. 23, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Tel Aviv also started a ground invasion of southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.
The military campaign was an escalation in a yearlong conflict between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of Tel Aviv’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 41,900 people, mostly women and children, since a Hamas attack last year.
At least 2,036 people have since been killed, over 9,600 injured, and 1.2 million others displaced, according to Lebanese authorities.
The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.
* Writing by Ikram Kouachi