Singapore sends fourth aid package to Gaza

Singapore has handed its fourth tranche of humanitarian assistance for Gaza on July 22. Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan announced it at a handover ceremony that was attended by Singapore’s Representative to the Palestinian Authority Hawazi Daipi, Chargé d’Affaires at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Embassy in Singapore Dhabia Al Mehairbi, and Honorary Consul of the Republic of Cyprus in Singapore Raja Bose.

The fourth tranche will comprise approximately 300 metric tonnes (MT) of halal-certified canned sardines and 1000 MT of white rice. These essential supplies will be transported via commercial sea freight from Singapore to Larnaca, Cyprus, for onward conveyance to Gaza, in cooperation with the UAE and Cyprus.

This latest aid is part of Singapore’s ongoing effort to support humanitarian relief operations for civilians in Gaza. The last tranche of aid comprising food and critical supplies was delivered to Gaza in March 2024, in coordination with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. With this latest tranche of aid, Singapore has to-date contributed more than SGD 17 million worth of donations for Gaza.

“Since the start of the conflict, Singapore has been actively supporting humanitarian efforts in Gaza. Many Singaporeans, both officially as well as in their private capacity, have been generously contributing to multiple fundraising efforts that would support these humanitarian efforts, and I want to call out especially organisations like the Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation, Mercy Relief and the Singapore Red Cross,” Minister Balakrishnan said at the event, as quoted by an official news release.

“The conflict in Gaza is now into its ninth month. Singaporeans are deeply distressed and grieved over the situation, the dire humanitarian situation, in Gaza. The suffering, which we are all aware of and have seen, is deeply heart wrenching,” the Minister said.

What is Singapore’s stand on the Gaza conflict?

“I note that the International Court of Justice has just published its advisory opinion. This was done just last Friday and Singapore is studying this advisory opinion very carefully,” the lawmaker said.

“Singapore’s long-standing position on the issue of Israeli settlements has been clear and consistent. We view Israel’s settlements in the West Bank as illegal under international law. These settlements, in fact, make it much harder to arrive at a negotiated two-state solution.

“Mr Hawazi and I have been to Ramallah on multiple occasions. We have witnessed the impact of these settlements on making and complicating the situation much further, making a negotiated solution in the long run much more difficult. This is why we have consistently voted in support of UN General Assembly resolutions that reject Israeli settlements in the West Bank. We have also voted in favour of all UN General Assembly resolutions calling upon Israel to rescind all unilateral measures to change the status of Jerusalem.

“As I have said in Parliament on 2 July, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a long-standing, complicated one. Singapore’s principled position is that both sides need to find the political will to resume negotiations with the support of the international community in order to make progress towards a two-state solution consistent with the United Nations Security Council resolutions.

“Only direct negotiations between both sides will achieve a durable, just, and comprehensive solution. In the meantime, Singapore remains committed to supporting the Palestinian Authority, especially in its capacity-building efforts through our Enhanced Technical Assistance Package.

“We recently hosted a training course for Palestinian officials in the area of AI and the use of big data in driving the delivery of public services. In fact, they were here just two weeks ago. We also currently have three Palestinians undergoing graduate studies in Singapore this academic year. We will continue to find practical ways in which Singapore can continue to help our Palestinian friends in these most difficult times,” he said.