Israel will send emergency medical aid, including badly needed oxygen equipment, to India on Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry said, to help fight the world's biggest Covid-19 surge.
The Israeli ministry said a series of flights throughout the week would carry aid that included thousands of group and individual oxygen generators, as well as respirators, medicine and other medical equipment.
"The extension of emergency assistance is an expression of the deep friendship between our countries in India's time of need," Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said.
International aid has poured into India in response to the crisis as the country's health system struggles to cope under the weight of new Covid-19 cases, with hospitals running out of beds and oxygen.
Meanwhile, people in Gaza have been tackling a surge in coronavirus cases since early April, with more than a third of tests returning positive.
The increase in numbers prompted the authorities to announce restrictions on April 1, which included a 9pm curfew, the closure of weekly markets and wedding halls as well as a ban on gatherings.
Gaza has been carrying out rapid tests and PCR tests, although the equipment to conduct the latter is extremely expensive and capacity remains limited.
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One of two tanks carrying 44 tonnes of liquid oxygen that will be shipped from Dubai to India. Courtesy: All photos by Baps Hindu Mandir -
A priest offers a traditional Hindu prayer before a shipment of oxygen tanks and cylinders leaves Dubai for India to support hospitals reeling from oxygen shortages. -
About 600 oxygen cylinders are being shipped to India from Dubai along with two tanks filled with 44 tonnes of liquid oxygen. -
Swami Brahmavihari, a priest with Baps Swaminarayan Sanstha, offers a traditional Hindu prayer before shipping 600 oxygen cylinders to hospitals in India. -
About 600 oxygen cylinders are being shipped to India from Dubai along with two tanks carrying 44 tonnes of liquid oxygen. -
About 600 oxygen cylinders are being shipped to India from Dubai along with two tanks with 44 tonnes of liquid oxygen. -
A Hindu priest offers a traditional prayer before shipping oxygen tanks, cylinders and oxygen concentrators to hospitals in India. -
The medical supplies have been organised by the Baps Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi. -
The first shipment is part of a planned monthly supply of 440 tonnes for patients in Indian hospitals. -
Medical grade oxygen is being shipped to Indian hospitals from Dubai.
“The Ministry of Health only has one laboratory available where they can do the PCR test,” said Sacha Bootsma, head of the WHO’s Gaza office.
“It’s also not a matter of buying more PCR machines, but staffing and the capacity to run these tests.”
The 5.2 million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip have been receiving limited supplies of vaccines through the global Covax vaccine-sharing scheme.
About 167,000 citizens in the Palestinian Authority areas have received at least one dose, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
