Israel announced on Monday its intention to send new aid to South Sudan, one of the countries which media reports have suggested as a possible destination for relocating Palestinians from Gaza.
In a statement carried by Army Radio, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said it would provide urgent humanitarian assistance to South Sudan following the outbreak of a cholera epidemic since September 2024.
According to Israel’s state broadcaster, Israel will deliver emergency humanitarian aid to South Sudan amid reports of discussions with Juba about the “possibility of transferring Gaza residents to its territory.”
Meanwhile, the Israel Hayom daily reported that Israel’s national aid agency, under the Foreign Ministry, “will provide basic medical supplies, water purification equipment, and food packages for the needy in South Sudan, under the supervision of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.”
The announcement comes as Israel has, since March 2, kept all crossings leading into Gaza closed, blocking the entry of humanitarian aid. This has plunged the Strip into famine, despite hundreds of aid trucks piling up at its borders. Only very limited amounts, insufficient to meet even the minimum needs of Palestinians, have been allowed in.
A week ago, international media reports revealed that South Sudan’s government had “given preliminary approval to an Israeli request to accept Palestinians from Gaza for resettlement, in exchange for Israeli investments.”
However, South Sudan later officially denied any such agreement, describing the claims as baseless, according to Maariv.
Last week, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel visited Juba and met with President Salva Kiir.
On July 29, Foreign Minister Sa’ar stated: “I was honored to host South Sudanese Foreign Minister Mundia S. Kombo in Jerusalem and thanked him for his country’s support of Israel.” During that visit, according to Israel Hayom, Kombo toured Israeli settlements in the northern occupied West Bank.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s assault has left 61,944 Palestinians dead, 155,886 injured—most of them children and women—over 9,000 missing, hundreds of thousands displaced, and famine claiming the lives of 258 people, including 110 children.
South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan in 2011, has endured ongoing instability following a civil war between supporters of President Salva Kiir and rival leader Riek Machar from 2013 to 2018. The conflict killed around 400,000 people and displaced 4 million others.
Source: Al Jazeera + Anadolu
