
Egyptian Red Crescent Provides Prayer Tents for Gaza During Ramadan
Feb 25, 2025
The Egyptian Red Crescent Society has launched the 'Support Gaza, Praying Tarawih' campaign, an initiative providing prayer tents inside Gaza to replace mosques that had been destroyed by Israeli forces. With Ramadan approaching, the campaign aims to ensure that people in the region have spaces to gather for prayers, particularly the special Tarawih prayers performed during the holy month.
Described as the first initiative of its kind, the campaign frames the donation of prayer tents as a way to direct zakat and charity. Contributions can be made through multiple channels, including online platforms, phone services, text messages, and banking options.
Online donations are available through the Egyptian Red Crescent Society's website, while phone representatives can be reached at 15322 (extension 3) for those who wish to donate by providing their details.
Mobile users can contribute by sending "Palestine" to 9770 for a fee of EGP 5. Other electronic options include Fawry, using code 99981, and Vodafone Cash, by dialing #1669Gaza, along with Orange Cash via #7115#.
Bank donations can be made through several financial institutions. Cairo Bank has designated account number 30/501/8384 (IBAN: EG440004103000000305010008384) for Palestine donations. CIB Bank is accepting contributions under account 100035211157, with a marketing code of 911111.
Additional accounts have been established at the Arab African International Bank (1023339210010201), SAIB Bank's Maadi branch (2820302932110010), and Bank of Egypt (911111).

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Al-Ahram Weekly
an hour ago
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Gangs and merchants sell food aid in Gaza as Israel's offensive shattered security: AP report - War on Gaza
Since Israel's offensive led to a security breakdown in Gaza that has made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to starving Palestinians, much of the limited aid entering is being hoarded by gangs and merchants and sold at exorbitant prices. A kilogram (2.2 pounds) of flour has run as high as $60 in recent days, a kilogram of lentils up to $35. That is beyond the means of most residents in the territory, which experts say is at risk of famine and where people are largely reliant on savings 21 months into the Israel-Hamas war. Israel's decision this weekend to facilitate more aid deliveries — under international pressure — has lowered prices somewhat but has yet to be fully felt on the ground. Bags of flour in markets often bear U.N. logos, while other packaging has markings indicating it came from the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — all originally handed out for free. It's impossible to know how much is being diverted, but neither group can track who receives its aid. In the melees surrounding aid distributions in recent weeks, residents say the strong were best positioned to come away with food. Mohammed Abu Taha, who lives in a tent with his wife and child near the city of Rafah, said organised gangs of young men are always at the front of crowds when he visits GHF sites. 'It's a huge business,' he said. Every avenue for aid is beset by chaos The U.N. says up to 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, aid groups and media outlets say their staffers are going hungry, and Gaza's Health Ministry says dozens of Palestinians have died from hunger-related causes in the last three weeks. When the U.N. gets Israeli permission to distribute aid, its convoys are nearly always attacked by armed gangs or overwhelmed by hungry crowds in the buffer zone controlled by the military. The U.N.'s World Food Program said last week it will only be able to safely deliver aid to the most vulnerable once internal security is restored, likely only under a ceasefire. 'In the meantime, given the urgent need for families to access food, WFP will accept hungry populations taking food from its trucks, as long as there is no violence,' spokesperson Abeer Etifa said. In the alternative delivery system operated by GHF, an American contractor, Palestinians often run a deadly gauntlet. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops while seeking food since May, mainly near the GHF sites, according to the U.N. human rights office, witnesses and local health officials. The military says it has only fired warning shots when people approach its forces, while GHF says its security contractors have only used pepper spray or fired in the air on some occasions to prevent stampedes. 'You have to be strong and fast' A man in his 30s, who insisted on anonymity for fear of reprisal, said he had visited GHF sites about 40 times since they opened and nearly always came back with food. He sold most of it to merchants or other people to buy other necessities for his family. Heba Jouda, who has visited the sites many times, said armed men steal aid as people return with it, and merchants also offer to buy it. 'To get food from the American organisation, you have to be strong and fast," she said. Footage shot by Palestinians at GHF sites and shared broadly shows chaotic scenes, with crowds of men racing down fenced-in corridors and scrambling to grab boxes off the ground. GHF says it has installed separate lanes for women and children and is ramping up programs to deliver aid directly to communities. The U.N.'s deliveries also often devolve into deadly violence and chaos, with crowds of thousands rapidly overwhelming trucks close to Israeli troops. The U.N. does not accept protection from Israel, saying it prefers to rely on community support. The Israeli military did not respond to emails seeking comment about the reselling of aid. Israel denies allowing looters to operate in areas it controls and accuses Hamas of prolonging the war by not surrendering. 'There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza,' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday. The situation changed dramatically in March For much of the war, U.N. agencies were able to safely deliver aid, despite Israeli restrictions and occasional attacks and theft. Hamas-led police guarded convoys and went after suspected looters and merchants who resold aid. During a ceasefire earlier this year, Israel allowed up to 600 aid trucks to enter daily. There were no major disruptions in deliveries, and food prices were far lower. The U.N. said it had mechanisms in place to prevent any organized diversion of aid. But Israel says Hamas was siphoning it off, though it has provided no evidence of widespread theft. That all changed in March, when Israel ended the ceasefire and halted all imports, including food. Israel seized large parts of Gaza in what it said was a tactic to pressure Hamas into releasing the fifty captives abducted in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack and still held in Gaza. As the Hamas-run police vanished from areas under Israeli control, local tribes and gangs — some of which Israel says it supports — took over, residents say. Israel began allowing a trickle of aid to enter in May. GHF was set up that month with the stated goal of preventing Hamas from diverting aid. Since then, Israel has allowed an average of about 70 trucks a day, compared to the 500-600 the U.N. says are needed. The military said Saturday it would allow more trucks in — 180 entered Sunday — and international airdrops have resumed, which aid organisations say are largely ineffective. Meanwhile, food distribution continues to be plagued by chaos and violence, as seen near GHF sites or around U.N. trucks. Even if Israel pauses its military operations during the day, it's unclear how much the security situation will improve. With both the U.N. and GHF, Hamas members may be among the crowds. In response to questions from The Associated Press, GHF acknowledged that, but said its system prevents the organised diversion of aid. 'The real concern we are addressing is not whether individual actors manage to receive food, but whether Hamas can systematically control aid flows. At GHF sites, they cannot,' it said. Hamas has denied stealing aid. It's unclear if it's involved in the aid trade, but its fighters would be taking a major risk by operating in a coordinated way in Israeli military zones that U.N. trucks pass through and where GHF sites are located. The UN says the only solution is a ceasefire U.N. officials have called on Israel to fully lift the blockade and flood Gaza with food. That would reduce the incentive for looting by ensuring enough for everyone and driving down prices. Another ceasefire would include a major increase in aid and the release of Israeli captives, but talks have stalled. Israel's war on Gaza has killed over 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and is run by medical professionals. Israel has disputed its figures without providing its own. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:


Al-Ahram Weekly
2 days ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Al-Azhar sends new aid convoy to Gaza
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Mada
2 days ago
- Mada
Just 150 aid trucks depart to Gaza from Egypt as Israel announces ‘tactical suspension of military activities'
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Despite opposition to the step from officials in Tel Aviv, including National Security Minister Itmar Ben Gvir, who called for a 'complete stop' to humanitarian aid on Saturday night, the Israeli military announced that it would implement a daily 'tactical suspension of military activities' for 'humanitarian purposes' in the areas of Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Mawasi, with military activity still ongoing in the majority of the coastal enclave. The pauses are to begin Sunday and last from 10 am to 8 pm until further notice, the military said. Following two days of preparations at Egyptian Red Crescent warehouses in Arish city, a source from the agency said that trucks belonging to the Egyptian and Emirati Red Crescent Societies and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), carrying flour, food supplies, medicine and medical supplies departed toward Karam Abu Salem on Sunday morning. A statement published by the agency said the shipment included around 840 tons of flour and 450 tons of various food items. Trucks arriving from North Sinai to the Karam Abu Salem crossing — which joins Egyptian, Israeli and Palestinian territory and is under Israeli supervision — were required to unload their cargo on the Israeli side for inspection before reloading onto Palestinian trucks for entry into Gaza, the red crescent source said. All 150 trucks had crossed from the Egyptian side by 6 am on Sunday, the source added. But as of 8 am, the Israeli military was yet to greenlight the aid's entry into Gaza, according to a WFP official in Egypt cited by the BBC. The limited volumes join a trickle of aid still reaching Gaza. The WFP said on Sunday it delivered only 350 trucks of food aid into Gaza last week 'under extremely challenging circumstances that put civilians and aid workers at tremendous risk.' Without permission from Israel to move along secured routes without the risk of being subjected to Israeli fire, WFP convoys have been exposed to looting in south Gaza by the armed group operating in Israeli-held Rafah, while convoys entering the north last week were rushed by crowds of thousands of people waiting to access limited supplies of aid. The agency mourned the loss of 'countless lives' last week, after Israeli forces shot and killed 80 aid-seekers in a crowd of people waiting to receive aid from WFP trucks entering north Gaza at the Zikim crossing. As part of its tactical pause, the Israeli military also said that it designated secured corridors for aid convoys, coordinated with the UN and international organizations, to be maintained daily from 6 am to 11 pm. 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Over the past 24 hours, six Palestinians, including two children, died from hunger and malnutrition, Gaza's Health Ministry said on Sunday. This brings the total number of starvation and malnutrition-related deaths in the strip to 133, including 87 children. Gaza's Government Media Office described the entry of a few dozen aid trucks as 'a limited step that does not suffice to break the famine,' stressing that the strip needs 600 trucks a day — including baby formula, humanitarian supplies and fuel — to meet the minimum needs of the population.' The office also noted that children in Gaza require 250,000 cans of formula per month to prevent infant malnutrition and starvation. Meanwhile, Jordan and the UAE airdropped 25 tons of aid on Sunday, following a prior airdrop conducted by the Israeli military comprising seven aid pallets of flour, sugar and canned food. Hamas described Israel's airdrops of aid as a 'superficial and deceptive move aimed at whitewashing its image before the world.' As the number of people killed by causes tied to malnutrition spiked over recent days, governments in Europe and the West increased calls for Israel to stop starving people in Gaza.