Qatar on Monday launched an air bridge from Jordan to transport vital medical supplies to Gaza, where hospitals are facing serious deficiencies after more than 15 months of Israeli attacks.
According to a statement from the Qatari Foreign Ministry, the operation began at King Abdullah II Airbase in Jordan, with helicopters transferring aid to Al-Qarara in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
The air bridge complements an earlier land route established by Qatar to facilitate humanitarian assistance.
The initiative was overseen by Qatari Minister of State for International Cooperation Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al Misnad, alongside Qatar’s Ambassador to Jordan, Saud bin Nasser bin Jassim Al-Thani, as well as officials from Qatar Charity, the Qatar Fund for Development, and the Qatar Red Crescent.
Al Misnad noted that since the start of the cease-fire, Qatar has sent 65 relief trucks through the Jordanian border.
“In addition to this land bridge, two helicopter flights carrying essential medical aid will arrive in North Khan Younis,” she stated.
She also announced that Qatar had supplied 20,000 tents, transported via a land route from Doha to Jordan.
The Qatari airlift follows Jordan’s Jan. 28 announcement of an extended humanitarian air bridge to Gaza, involving multiple nations.
Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed Al-Momani said in a press briefing in Amman that helicopters would conduct 18 flights daily over an eight-day period, delivering aid to the Al-Qarara (Kisufim) crossing, a key link between northern and southern Gaza.
A ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel took effect on Jan. 19, temporarily halting a war that has devastated Gaza.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli military operations have killed more than 47,500 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children, and injured over 111,600.
The ongoing assault has left more than 11,000 people missing and has created a humanitarian catastrophe, with widespread destruction and thousands of elderly and children distress in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
