Australian billionaire proposes building new aid system for Gaza
CNN
An Australian billionaire is offering to build a secure gate system on the Israel-Gaza border that he says could allow 10,000 metric tons of food aid to be delivered each day to starving Palestinians.
An Australian billionaire is offering to build a secure gate system on the Israel-Gaza border that he says could allow 10,000 metric tons of food aid to be delivered each day to starving Palestinians. Andrew Forrest, founder of the philanthropic Minderoo Foundation, was set to raise the proposal Tuesday at an emergency summit on Gaza in Jordan, co-hosted by that country, Egypt and the United Nations, and attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He’s also committed $5 million to improve the Jordanian humanitarian land corridor by building storage warehouses to allow more aid to pass to Gaza. “Right now, the Jordanian people are bearing a significant load by leading the single most effective route into Gaza. It is my intention to lighten their load,” Forrest, a mining magnate and avowed eco-warrior, said in a statement. According to a video presentation on its website, Minderoo said the more ambitious plan, to build SafeGates at three points along the Israel-Gaza border, could be up and running in three weeks, if Israel gives the green light. In a separate statement, Forrest said the project had been devised in consultation with Israel and Palestinian communities for the past two months. CNN has asked Israel for comment on the plan.
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