By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Rwandan authorities have announced the shipment of 16 tonnes of food supplies to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as humanitarian crisis escalates, arising from the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
The donation was sent to the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO), and it has arrived in the Jordanian capital, Amman, government’s deputy spokesman, Alain Mukuralinda, said in a statement on Monday.
It was made “in support to the ongoing international rescue effort”, Mr Mukuralinda wrote.
In addition to the 16 tonnes of food items, other humanitarian aids contained in the shipment include, medicines and medical supplies, the statement noted.
He added, “Rwanda reiterates the need for a de-escalation to protect the lives of innocent civilians”.
Rwanda is one of the countries on the continent that has close ties with Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Rwanda in 2016.
Both countries share “haunting similarities to the genocide of our own people”, Mr Netanyahu wrote in the visitor’s book after touring a memorial for the victims of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.
Over 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis, were massacred in 1994. Six million Jewish people were killed in the Holocaust during the Second World War.
