Pakistan on Monday dispatched the third consignment of 20 tonnes of relief goods including medicines, surgical items, dry ration and hygiene kits for the people of Gaza, with Israel carrying on its atrocities against Palestinians.

After arrival at Al Arish Airport in Egypt, the consignment will be handed over to the Red Crescent for onward distribution.

Nearly 22,000 Palestinians have been killed and 56,697 have been wounded in Israeli strikes in Gaza since October 7, the health ministry in Gaza said on Monday. The figures include 156 Palestinians killed and 246 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry added.

Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani sent off the cargo with a special Pakistan Airforce aircraft at Nur Khan Airbase, Islamabad, an official statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

In his remarks at the sendoff ceremony, the interim FM termed the consignment as a token of solidarity with the Palestinian brothers and sisters on the first morning of the new calendar year.

Reiterating Pakistan’s unstinted support to the Palestinian people in their legitimate and valiant struggle for their right to self-determination, the top Pakistani diplomat underlined the urgency of a ceasefire and unimpeded flow of humanitarian assistance to the people of occupied Gaza facing brutal Israeli aggression.

The Palestinian ambassador present at the ceremony thanked the government and Pakistani nation for continuous support especially the significant gesture of marking the New Year by expressing solidarity with the Palestinians.

Pakistan had dispatched the second consignment of relief goods for under siege Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in November last year.