KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait

Kuwait launched Wednesday an urgent mass relief campaign for the Palestinian people amid an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The announcement came in a joint press conference by Assistant Undersecretary for Social Development at the Kuwaiti Ministry of Social Affairs, Hana Al-Hajri, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Development and International Cooperation, Nasser Al-Subaih, and Palestinian Ambassador Rami Tahboub.

Al-Hajri said the campaign was directed by the Kuwaiti cabinet and demonstrates the Gulf state’s “commitment” and “support” towards the Palestinians.

The month-long campaign comes a day after the UN refugee agency UNRWA called on Israel to allow “timely” passage of humanitarian aid and its staff into besieged Gaza in adherence to its obligations under international law.

At least 219 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli onslaught on Gaza and 27 killed in the West Bank.

Human rights organizations accuse the Israeli army of deliberately targeting civilian homes, residential buildings, media institutions, as well as infrastructure in Gaza.

Al-Subaih, in turn, described the Palestinian issue as “a matter of principle and a general policy” adopted by the oil-rich country, noting that the campaign is “an extension of what all previous governments have done”. He urged citizens and residents to actively support the campaign.

For his part, Ambassador Tahboub hailed the Kuwaiti government and people for their longstanding support for Palestine and Palestinians.

"Words stand helpless in the face of the feeling of pride of the Kuwaiti people towards the Palestinian people, the holy sites, and Palestine in its entirety," Tahboub said.

Recent tensions that started in East Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan spread to Gaza as a result of Israeli assaults on worshippers in the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara