(MENAFN- Gulf Times) HE President of Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) Yousef bin Ali Al Khater affirmed that the Gaza Strip has been at the top of the QRCS's humanitarian priorities since the outbreak of the war, due to the severe humanitarian conditions there.

HE explained that QRCS has implemented more than 50 projects with a total value exceeding QR200mn, benefiting around 1.7mn people across several humanitarian sectors, including food, shelter, and water.

In an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), HE Al Khater said that QRCS has launched three dedicated campaigns for Gaza: the "Fidak Palestine” campaign, which was an emergency response appeal; the "Gaza Abiyya” campaign, launched in response to developments on the ground and the worsening humanitarian situation marked by increased displacement, food shortages, and deteriorating health conditions; and most recently, the "Life for Gaza” campaign, which was launched at the end of July 2025 and remains ongoing.

HE pointed out that these campaigns coincide with QRCS's seasonal initiatives, such as the Ramadan Campaign, Warm Winter Campaign, and Adahi Campaign, in which Gaza is given top priority in project funding and implementation due to the immense humanitarian needs there.

Regarding the main challenges and obstacles that have hindered the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, Al Khater emphasised that QRCS office in Gaza has continued its work and managed to reach beneficiaries despite difficult circumstances and the repeated displacement of its staff. Even during prolonged border closures, the office maintained aid distribution in coordination and cooperation with official Qatari authorities and several international organisations, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC), the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO), and the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), he added.

He underlined that implementation methods and types of interventions were diversified between delivering aid from outside Gaza and implementing some projects within the Strip.

As for the humanitarian interventions that entered Gaza despite the ongoing siege, Al Khater noted that QRCS carried them out in full co-ordination with the relevant Qatari authorities, with all aid delivered under the title "Qatar Aid." He recalled that, at the start of the war, an air bridge was established between Doha and Al-Arish in the Arab Republic of Egypt to transport aid and evacuate patients and the wounded for treatment in Qatari hospitals. Additionally, warehouses were prepared in Al-Arish to receive and store aid until it could be transferred into Gaza, he added.

Regarding the aids delivered through Jordan, he said that an agreement was reached with the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation to utilize its logistical capacities to receive and deliver aid into Gaza.

On medical interventions since the beginning of the aggression on Gaza, Al Khater explained that these included the supply of medicines and medical consumables, a field hospital, ambulances, medical equipment and tools, contracting with specialist surgeons to perform complex surgeries, as well as the deployment of a medical team from outside Gaza and medical evacuation to Qatar for patients and the injured.

Regarding prominent future projects that Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) intends to implement in 2026, Al Khater said that the focus will be on recovery and rehabilitation activities and development projects in the Gaza Strip, continuous readiness to provide urgent humanitarian response to various crises, strengthening international and local partnerships, humanitarian advocacy in international forums, and establishing emergency response units (ERU) internationally accredited by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), in addition to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), which includes the Psychosocial Support Unit, the Field Hospital Unit (Type 2), and the Water and Sanitation Unit (15).

He spoke about the most prominent humanitarian campaigns provided by the QRCS to Syria, including the 'Syria Rejoice' campaign, which comes within Qatar's humanitarian efforts to support the brotherly Syrian people, particularly in the health sector, by providing advanced medical equipment and supplies that contribute to enhancing the capacity of hospitals and health centers to provide care and treatment services.

Under the auspices of the Department of International Co-operation and with the support of Sidra Medicine and several Qatari entities, land and air shipments totaling 90 tonnes of medical equipment and supplies were sent in September 2025, in addition to various relief materials intended to support the health and humanitarian sectors in Syria, he pointed out.

Al Khater explained that the campaign aims to support the Syrian healthcare sector by supplying hospitals and healthcare centers with modern medical equipment and supplies, alleviate the humanitarian suffering of those affected by these difficult circumstances, enhance the healthcare system's ability to respond to emergencies, improve services provided to patients, and restore hope and stability to those returning to their areas after years of crisis.

He pointed out that the plan aims to cover the needs of more than 50 hospitals and health centers across various Syrian governorates by delivering hundreds of essential medical devices and equipment, along with thousands of relief baskets, blankets, and first aid kits.

Al Khater reviewed the most prominent humanitarian projects presented during 2025 in Bagladesh, Yemen, Somalia, Lebanon and Afghanistan. (QNA)
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Several projects have been launched in Bangladesh, including the operation of five health centers and a field hospital inside Rohingya refugee camps, the digging of 25 drinking water wells in various areas, the construction of about 508 new shelters and the maintenance of 302 existing shelters inside the camps, the distribution of non-food item packages to beneficiaries, the launch of seasonal projects such as Warm Winter and Adahi, and the treatment of heart diseases for sick children through the Little Hearts medical convoy.

In this context, HE noted the launch of two livelihood projects to economically empower Rohingya refugee women and farmers affected by the floods.

In Lebanon during 2024 and 2025, QRCS focused on five main areas and launched several projects for health, water and sanitation, food security, emergency and winter responses, and cash assistance through the Road to Stability initiative, supported by the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), to support thousands of the most vulnerable Lebanese families with multi-purpose cash assistance.

In Yemen, Al Khater highlighted the most prominent projects and humanitarian responses implemented by QRCS, including the drilling of wells and the construction of water reservoirs, livelihood improvement and standard of living projects, and support for the Cardiovascular Center in Taiz. He also highlighted seasonal projects such as distributing food baskets and winter shelter materials, and a project to support kidney failure and cancer patients.

Regarding humanitarian interventions in Afghanistan, he pointed to the construction, equipping and operation of a Basic Health Centre (BHC) in Kandahar province (Dand District) to provide basic healthcare services, support for the operation of a Comprehensive Health Centre (CHC), drilling and installing 62 artesian wells to provide drinking water, and implementing three projects to enhance the livelihoods of poor and needy families in various fields, in addition to seasonal projects such as Iftar and Warm Winter, as well as the construction of a residential village for poor families who were forcibly returned from asylum for 100 families with funding from philanthropists from Qatar.

His Excellency noted the implementation of a project responding to the needs of those affected by the 2025 earthquake in Kunar province. He indicated that an agricultural support project is currently being implemented to improve the living standards of approximately 2,000 families affected by disasters, with funding from QFFD. Arrangements are also underway to implement a project to support the Children's Heart Center at the Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul, with funding from the same fund at an estimated cost of more than $2mn.

In Somalia, QRCS implemented numerous health and medical projects in various regions, including cardiac catheterizations for children, general surgery, urology, and eye surgeries, as well as providing therapeutic medications to government hospitals, Al Khater explained. It also implemented productive projects for poor families to provide a steady source of income, and drilled deep artesian wells in drought-affected areas Red Crescent Society HE Yousef bin Ali Al Khater Gaza

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