Saudi, Japanese officials discuss humanitarian efforts in Gaza

The mother of Palestinian boy Karam Qadadah, a hepatitis patient who was evacuated with his mother from Al-Shifa hospital during an Israeli raid, reacts next to his body after he died at Kamal Adwan hospital, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the northern Gaza Strip, March 30, 2024. (REUTERS)
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Updated 02 April 2024
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Saudi, Japanese officials discuss humanitarian efforts in Gaza

  • 1.8 million donors contribute to $181 million fund for Palestinian relief in Saudi Arabia’s Sahem campaign

RIYADH: Ahmed bin Ali Al-Baiz, assistant supervisor-general for operations and programs at Saudi aid agency KSrelief, recently met with Japanese Special Envoy for Middle East Peace Tsukasa Uemura at the agency’s headquarters in Riyadh.

During the meeting, both sides discussed topics of mutual interest relating to humanitarian and relief affairs.

Al-Baiz reviewed the efforts provided by the Kingdom through KSrelief to the Palestinian people in Gaza.

HIGHLIGHT

So far, 44 relief flights have carried supplies weighing over 829 tonnes, including medical items, food, and shelter materials, for the Palestinian people in Gaza. Additionally, 20 ambulances containing essential medical equipment have also been delivered.

A fundraising campaign has been in place through the Sahem platform since the crisis began. Launched on Nov. 2, it has raised almost SR678 million ($181 million) and, by Monday, around 1.8 million people had donated.

Contributions can be made through Sahem’s website at sahem.ksrelief.org. Donors can also transfer funds directly to the campaign’s Al-Rajhi bank account or by downloading the Sahem app from the App Store or Google Play.

Al-Baiz said that, so far, 44 relief flights had carried supplies weighing over 829 tonnes that included medical items, food, and shelter materials. Some 20 ambulances containing essential medical equipment have also been delivered.

Furthermore, he added, a maritime bridge has been established with six relief ships carrying medical, shelter and food supplies weighing 4,966 tonnes. This brings the total relief delivered through both air and sea bridges to over 5,795 tonnes.

He also noted that KSrelief had signed four cooperation agreements to provide relief to Palestinian people in Gaza — with the UN Relief and Works Agency, the World Health Organization, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the World Food Programme — with a total value of SR150 million.

Additionally, another memorandum was signed with UNRWA providing financial support of $40 million to support its emergency appeal in Gaza, Al-Baiz added.

Since its inception in 2015, KSrelief has implemented 2,673 projects worth more than $6.5 billion in 98 countries, in cooperation with 175 local, regional and international partners. The bulk of the support has gone to Yemen ($4.3 billion), Syria ($391 million), Palestine ($370 million) and Somalia ($227 million).

KSrelief’s programs cover food security, health, sanitation, shelter, nutrition, education, telecommunications and logistics.

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Commander of Royal Saudi Air Force receives Military Order of Oman

Updated 24 December 2025
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Commander of Royal Saudi Air Force receives Military Order of Oman

  • Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman conferred the order upon Lt. Gen. Turki bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz

LONDON: Lt. Gen. Turki bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, the commander of the Royal Saudi Air Force, received on Wednesday the Military Order of Oman (Second Class) in recognition of his efforts and contributions in strengthening military cooperation between Oman and Saudi Arabia.

The order was presented by Sayyid Shihab bin Tarik Al-Said, the deputy prime minister for defense affairs, when he received the Saudi Air Force commander in his office at Al-Murtafa’a Camp in Muscat.

Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman conferred the order upon Lt. Gen. Abdulaziz, according to the Oman News Agency.

Several Omani officials, including Air Vice Marshal Khamis bin Hammad Al-Ghafri, the Commander of the Royal Air Force of Oman, attended the ceremony. Also present were the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Oman Ibrahim bin Saad bin Bishan, and the military attache from the Saudi Embassy in Muscat.

In a separate meeting on Wednesday, Lt. Gen. Abdulaziz and his Omani counterpart Al-Ghafri discussed training and drills between the two air forces, as well as aspects of military cooperation.