From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Australian group sending 20 ventilators to Palestinians
Twenty ventilators and other emergency medical supplies will be delivered to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah at noon on Thursday, announces Australian organization Project Rozana.
Project Rozana is a nonprofit that focuses on building coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians through medical initiatives.
The equipment arrives in the wake of a massive shortage of critical medical supplies in the Palestinian territories. While the PA’s emergency coronavirus response plan requires 1,200 ventilators, only 343 are available — 256 in the West Bank and 87 in Gaza. In an official letter to Rozana, Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki predicted the shortage could lead to “a humanitarian disaster.”
“Israel fully supports efforts to supply vitally needed Covid-19 related medical equipment to the Palestinian Authority,” Israeli ambassador to Australia Mark Sofer says in a statement.
— Aaron Boxerman
The Times of Israel Community.