CAIRO, April 23. /TASS/. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced that Russia donated 30,000 tons of wheat to his country, and all of this cargo will be redirected to the Gaza Strip.
"Russian President Vladimir Putin donated 30,000 tons of wheat to us; all of it will be sent to Gaza," he said, speaking at a meeting of the Central Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Ramallah. His speech was broadcast by the Al Hadath TV channel.
Abbas said the grain was expected to "arrive at Israeli ports next month," after which it would be handed over to the Palestinian government in the West Bank and sent to the enclave. He did not specify how or when the wheat would be delivered to Gaza, where all entry points are currently closed, but stressed that he considered it necessary to "lift the blockade on the Strip as soon as possible" and bring in humanitarian aid.
On March 2, Israel blocked aid supplies to Gaza and closed all crossings after Hamas refused to accept the plan of US special envoy Steven Witkoff to continue negotiations on a ceasefire in the enclave. A week later, Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen ordered a halt to electricity supplies to the Gaza Strip, and on March 18, full-scale hostilities resumed in the enclave after two months of a ceasefire.