The Saudi Arabian government disbursed US$2 million (approximately Rp31.4 billion, assuming an exchange rate of Rp15,709 per US$) in humanitarian aid for Palestinian refugees on Monday, October 16, 2023.
This aid was channeled through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the United Nations (UN) agency serving the needs of Palestinian refugees.
Previously, in 2022, Saudi Arabia donated US$27 million (approximately Rp424 billion) in aid for Palestinian refugees through UNRWA.
However, since the outbreak of the Israel-Palestine war in early October 2023, this is the first additional aid from the oil-rich nation.
Besides Saudi Arabia, several other countries have provided similar aid through UNRWA, namely the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Jordan, Kuwait, and Scotland, with details as shown in the graph.
In total, humanitarian aid from these five countries amounts to US$28.91 million (approximately Rp454 billion). However, this is far from meeting the total needs.
According to estimates from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), approximately 1.3 million Palestinians currently require urgent assistance, and the total aid needed is US$294 million (approximately Rp4.6 trillion).
The majority of this aid is needed for food provision, refugee shelter, and aid distribution coordination.
"Civil-military coordination needs to be strengthened to facilitate the safe transport and delivery of aid supplies across the Gaza Strip border," stated OCHA in its report *Hostilities in Gaza and Israel*, October 12, 2023 edition.
"Many shelters also have inadequate infrastructure. Most shelters have reached maximum capacity, while more refugees are expected to arrive," it continued.