By Xinhua
Cairo : Egypt’s Doctors Syndicate has sent a convoy of urgent relief supplies to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who are suffering a humanitarian crisis due to the ongoing Israeli blockade, the official MENA news agency reported Friday.
The shipment, includes 40 tons of meat and other foodstuff as well as six tons of medicines, has been delivered to the ousted Hamas government in Gaza, secretary general of the syndicate’s Humanitarian Relief Committee, Abdel Qader Hegazi, was quoted as saying.
In addition, a four-truck convoy carrying some 200 tons of wheat, rice, other foodstuff and medicines offered by the EgyptianShari’a Association on Friday reached Palestinians who have flooded into the Egyptian side of Rafah crossing.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak pledged Thursday that his country would not allow the starvation of the Palestinians in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Egyptian border guards moved to close the Egyptian-Gaza borders as more Palestinians gathered at the border town of Rafah on Friday.
Egyptian security forces announced earlier in the day by loudspeaker on the Egyptian side of Rafah that the borders with Gaza would be closed from 1300 GMT, according to reports of the pan-Arab television al-Jazeera.
The Egyptian forces with riot shields have formed a human wall in preparation for closing the border town and water cannons were also seen fired at one point above the heads of the gathering people to keep them back.
Palestinian militants on early Wednesday blew up holes in the concrete wall separating southern Gaza and Egypt, which allowed tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza to pour into Egypt to purchase daily necessities as the hope to lift Gaza siege faded.