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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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. 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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. 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Al-Ahram Weekly
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Mada
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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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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.
