ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq prepared its fourth batch of medical aid to Gaza, the Iraqi Red Crescent Society said on Sunday, adding that the delivery had been carried out in coordination with the government. The NGO said in a post on its Facebook page that over 20 tons of medical supplies were ready to be transported to Baghdad airport. The supplies will then be flown into Egypt and transferred by land to the Gaza Strip. The new batch of aid comes amid a four-day truce brokered between Israel and Hamas which has seen a pause in the bombardment of the besieged enclave. While the agreement is focused on the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, the pause has also enabled the delivery of aid. The United Nations said 61 trucks carrying medical supplies, food, and water had entered the northern Gaza Strip from Israel. The war and devastation in Gaza has sparked sympathy across the Arab world where the Palestinian cause traditionally has widespread support. Over 14,800 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza since October 7th when a Hamas attack killed 1,200 Israelis. During the pause underway in Gaza, the Israeli army killed eight people in the occupied West Bank in the last 24 hours according to the Palestinian health ministry. Last month, Basem al-Awadi, the spokesperson of the Iraqi government had announced that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani issued directives to send humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza through the enclave's Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
