Quebecers will join hundreds of humanitarian workers from around thirty countries to deliver thousands of tons of aid to the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, the epicenter of the war between Israel and Hamas, which has been raging there since six months.
More than 5,500 tonnes of equipment, whether medical or used to rebuild infrastructure, as well as food are due to set sail from the Mediterranean in the coming weeks towards the Palestinian territory.
“The objective is to do what the government is not doing,” underlined Tuesday the former NDP candidate and epidemiologist Nimâ Machouf, who will herself fly to the Middle East with at least two other compatriots.
Israel launched its military offensive in the Gaza Strip following the Hamas attack on October 7. The Palestinian movement has killed some 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 250 hostages. The Israeli response has left nearly 34,000 dead to date, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health, and is leading to a food and health crisis in the enclave.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition maritime convoy will have three ships in total, including two for aid workers and one for transporting cargo.
The targeted departure date would be in the last weeks of April, and it will take a few days to reach Gaza. Anesthetic products and birthing and operating kits are included in the shipment, among other things. Material that Israel does not normally allow into the enclave, raises Nimâ Machouf.
Accompanied by other representatives of groups supporting the international emergency mission, including Amnesty International Canada francophone, Mme Machouf made the announcement in front of the offices of the federal Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, in Montreal.
The former political figure asked Quebec and Ottawa to ensure the security of the Quebec delegation joining the flotilla and to provide help on board so that it arrives safely. “Our role is to bear witness and to ensure through our presence that the equipment goes to Gaza,” she declared.
“We think that the population of Gaza needs us, us as citizens, us as individuals,” she argued, pointing to the famine hitting the strip and the deterioration in the state of health of the people. Palestinians.