Kuwait relief campaign for Gaza raises over KD 6.5m

Kuwait Times

a day ago

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Social Affairs announced on Wednesday that its urgent humanitarian relief campaign in support of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip has concluded, collecting a total of KD 6,546,078 (approximately $21.4 million) over the three-day initiative. Ministry spokesperson Yousef Saif told KUNA that the campaign — launched in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS), and numerous Kuwaiti charitable associations and foundations — witnessed broad participation and generous contributions from across the country.
He noted that one of the largest donors was the General Secretariat of Endowments, which contributed KD 500,000 to the campaign, launched under the slogan 'Kuwait By Your Side – A Response to Gaza.' Donations through the ministry's electronic link totaled KD 2,515,795 (approximately $8.2 million) from 63,501 individual donors. Among the key contributors, the Patients' Aid Fund donated KD 476,010 (over $1.5 million), the Direct Aid Society contributed KD 1.318 million (approximately $4.3 million), while the Islamic Heritage Revival Society donated KD 235,440 (around $770,300).
Saif affirmed that the initiative is part of Kuwait's steadfast humanitarian policy and reflects the country's firm commitment to supporting the Palestinian people in their time of need. The campaign focused primarily on providing essential food supplies to affected families in the Strip. In line with Cabinet Resolution No 1461, in-kind food donations were accepted under regulated procedures, with food items procured exclusively from the Kuwait Flour Mills and Bakeries Company. The KRCS is overseeing the delivery of the relief aid in coordination with accredited humanitarian agencies in Egypt, Jordan and Palestine.
Palestinians watch aid packages parachuted from a military plane in the Nuseirat area in the central Gaza Strip during an airdrop above the besieged Palestinian territory on August 6, 2025.
Mufti of Jerusalem banned
Meanwhile, Zionist authorities on Wednesday issued a six-month ban on the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine, Sheikh Mohammad Hussein, preventing him from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque. In a statement, the Jerusalem Governorate said that the decision was handed down by the so-called Commander of the Jerusalem District Police, Amir Azrani, following the expiration of a previous eight-day ban.
The move came in response to the Mufti's Friday sermon, in which he denounced the Zionist-imposed starvation policy in Gaza. He was subsequently detained and informed of the initial ban. The latest order extends the prohibition on the Mufti's entry to Al-Aqsa for six months, in what Palestinian officials described as an ongoing attempt to silence religious and national voices standing against the occupation's humanitarian violations.
Full military occupation
The Zionist military will have to execute any government decisions on Gaza, the defense minister said Wednesday after reported disagreements over the prospect of a full occupation of the Palestinian territory. Signs of a rift over strategy emerged as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to announce a new phase in the war, after he said Zionist entity must 'complete' the defeat of Hamas in order to secure the release of hostages still held in Gaza. The press, citing officials speaking on condition of anonymity, has predicted an escalation of operations, including in densely populated areas where hostages are believed to be held, such as Gaza City and refugee camps.
The reports also said Netanyahu and his cabinet would order a full military occupation of Gaza, sparking dissension from the army's Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir. On Tuesday, Netanyahu held a restricted three-hour meeting with security chiefs to discuss options for the continuation of the war, his office said in a statement. At the meeting, Zamir reportedly warned that a full occupation would be like 'walking into a trap,' according to public broadcaster KAN.
The army chief suggested alternatives to a full occupation, such as an encirclement of specific areas where Hamas is believed to be hunkering down, according to the Channel 12 broadcaster. But Defense Minister I Katz hit back with a clear message. 'It is the right and duty of the Chief of Staff to express his position in the appropriate forums,' he wrote on X. 'But once decisions are made by the political echelon, the IDF will execute them with determination and professionalism... until the objectives of the war are achieved,' he added, using an acronym for the Zionist military.
Netanyahu is expected to convene the security cabinet on Thursday to finalize a decision on the expansion of the offensive, local media reported. US President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday he was not aware of reported plans to occupy the entire Gaza Strip, but said that such a decision would be 'up to (Zionist entity)'.
The UN Security Council held a special session on Tuesday to discuss hostages in Gaza, as the country seeks to keep the issue on top of the global agenda. On Tuesday, Trump described a recent video released by Hamas of emaciated hostage Evyatar David purportedly digging his own grave as 'horrible.' In parallel, international criticism has surged over the suffering of over two million Palestinians, who the UN warns are at risk of widespread famine.
'Dangerous routes'
In the besieged Gaza Strip, where humanitarian aid has only been trickling in, the civil defense agency said on Wednesday that at least 22 people had been killed in an overnight incident involving an aid truck that overturned onto a crowd of aid seekers. 'The truck overturned while hundreds of civilians were waiting for food aid in the Nuseirat area' of the Gaza Strip, civil defense agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP. 'The truck had been forced by the army to take dangerous roads,' in poor condition after being bombed, he added. The Hamas-run government in Gaza accused Zionist entity of 'deliberately obstructing the safe passage and distribution of the aid.' - Agencies