RIYADH: In response to a fundraising call from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, Crown Prince Sultan donated SR10 million, while Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of the Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), donated SR5 million to alleviate suffering in Palestine.
Total donations collected so far exceed SR125 million, excluding several truckloads of relief supplies such as blankets, clothes and basic provisions.
“The Kingdom has sent seven planeloads of aid to war-torn Palestine so far including two relief planes that took off from Riyadh Air Base yesterday for Areesh airport in Egypt, carrying more than 24 tons of medical supplies,” said Dr. Khaled Al-Mirghalani, spokesman for the Ministry of Health.
“A total of 14 severely injured Palestinians have been airlifted and admitted to different hospitals in the Saudi capital as I speak to you,” he added. “The Saudi government will continue to send relief supplies to the Palestinians, who are facing brutal Jewish aggression and a crippling blockade in Gaza Strip.”
Mirghalani said the Kingdom’s air ambulances would continue to shuttle between Riyadh and Areesh as and when required to ferry the injured Palestinians. “We have already operated three sorties, which have airlifted those who require immediate medical treatment or life support in intensive care units,” he added.
On the funds raised by the Kingdom following Saturday’s telethon, a campaign committee member said: “We are still receiving donations, both in cash and in kind, from citizens and residents.” The source said a number of people have deposited their donations in the National Bank Account No. 33, which has been opened for this purpose, and that a premier bank of the Kingdom, SAAB, announced it was donating SR1.5 million.
A farmer in the northern region of Hail donated 80,000 square meters of farmland in Qaed while another donor gave his car.
A Saudi in Jeddah brought 45 head of sheep in a pickup and told officials that he wanted to send them to Gaza. The officials then asked him to sell the sheep and bring the money. A seven-year-old girl donated her gold bangles and told officials those were the only valuables she possessed.
“Several truckloads of relief supplies donated by people in Riyadh have been carried to the warehouses of the Saudi Red Crescent Society (SRCS), which is one of the organizations on the forefront of the relief operation,” one official said.
The SRCS’ Palestinian counterpart — the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) — has launched an emergency appeal for $6.8 million to respond to the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip
Ghazanfar Ali Khan Arab News
http://samotalis.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment