Pakistan has dispatched the first consignment carrying relief assistance for the people of Palestine, as at least 3,785 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since Hamas’s October 7 attack inside Israel, which killed more than 1,400 people.

“The relief assistance, carrying 1,000 tents, 4,000 blankets, and three tons of medicines, will reach Palestine via Egypt,” according to a statement issued on Thursday.

On October 16, the Foreign Office announced its decision to send humanitarian assistance to war-torn Gaza to alleviate the sufferings of the Palestinians.

Moreover, Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir had said that Palestinians have the unequivocal support of Pakistan and that the country would back their principled stance for an enduring resolution of the issue.

The assistance, sent by the Pakistan Army and the National Disaster Management Authority, would provide “immediate relief” to the affected people of Gaza.

“Pakistan is standing by its Palestinian brothers and sisters and will continue supporting them,” the statement said.

More than 100 trucks were waiting close to the Rafah border crossing on the Egyptian side to enter Gaza, though it is not expected that aid will enter before Friday, according to Al Jazeera.

Earlier in the day, the Foreign Office rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement about the alleged danger being posed to Israel by Pakistan.

“Pakistan has never initiated a war against any country. So, such baseless accusations are completely rejected,” FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in response to a query at the weekly press briefing.

Meanwhile, President Arif Alvi visited the Embassy of Palestine in Pakistan and expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people.

A statement from the Press Information Department said he urged the international community to condemn Israel’s brutalities and its disproportionate reaction which killed thousands of people. The president called for an immediate ceasefire and the opening up of a humanitarian corridor to send aid to the people lacking food, electricity, and water.

The President also met Palestinian Ambassador Ahmed Jawad Rabei and expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people on behalf of the Government and the people of Pakistan.

He said that Pakistan would always stand by Palestine and would only accept a solution that was acceptable to the Palestinians. The President added that the United Nations should debate the atrocities that happened in Palestine, and the UNSC should pass a resolution to stop Israeli atrocities.

He said that such “brutal actions” created more possibilities of hatred leading to more wars, adding that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation should raise a strong voice in support of Palestine.

“On behalf of the Pakistani people, we condemn the brutalities happening in Gaza, the disproportionate reaction of Israel, and the apartheid for the last 30-40 years. We condemn that people are being brutalized and killed. In fact, the hospital in Gaza was bombed and more than 500 people died. All this creates more bitterness,” the president stated.

He underscored that war totally destroyed any possibility of peace, adding that walls were being raised to stop the Palestinian people from trying to achieve a peaceful two-state solution. He said that such walls would not withstand and would be breached by the people.

“As long as a two-state solution is being suppressed, people will react”, he added.

The Palestinian ambassador thanked the president for visiting the Embassy of Palestine during such difficult times. He termed Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide of the Palestinian people.