Hamza Oudha Khalidi, the 26-year old Palestinian brought from Gaza last week, succumbed to his injuries as five more Palestinians aged between 16 and 25 arrived on Saturday for treatment and were admitted to various hospitals in Riyadh, said Abdurrahim Mahmoud Jamous, Director of Riyadh-based Committee for Helping Palestinian People. Jamous said King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has ordered five air-ambulances for carrying Palestinians injured from the Israeli aggression in Gaza. He said the injured were brought to Areesh, a border town between Gaza and Egypt and from there the Saudi special medical carriers transported the Palestinians to Riyadh. With the arrival of Mohammed Maher Abu Swurah (17), Jihad Abdulqader Al-Salibi (19), Adel Adnan Muhammad Abu Ouf (25), Khalid Nasr Nasir Al-Dhahibi (16) and Momen Fayez Khareeq (21) the number of Palestinians transported to Riyadh has reached 13. “Three of the five injured Palestinians who arrived yesterday are in serious condition,” he said. He said the injured Palestinians were admitted to various hospitals including Riyadh Military Hospital, Security Forces Hospital, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, King Fahd Medical City, King Fahd National Guard Hospital and King Khalid University Hospital. He said more injured Palestinians are expected to arrive in Riyadh, as the situation in Gaza worsens following the land incursion by Israeli troops. The Palestinians are courageous fighters and despite the Israeli tyranny they have put up a brave fight, he said. “I am constantly in touch with my relatives and friends in Gaza. Despite the ruthless Israeli onslaught one of my friends told me over the phone that the world knows Palestinians are fighting for their homeland. How many more people will the Israelis kill?” he quoted his friend as saying. The number of those killed in the Israeli aggression has reached 490 and over 1,300 injured, Jamous, who left Palestine in 1967, said. He said that Saudis are in the forefront in helping the Palestinian cause, which has been evident time and again from the help that has poured in whenever Palestinians were faced with problems due to Israeli aggression. “The Saudi TV telethon ordered by King Abdullah Saturday for the relief of the Palestinian people raised SR119 million in only 12 hours. This itself is evident of Saudi help,” he said adding that the first aid shipment that went to Gaza after the Israeli attack was from Saudi Arabia. He also thanked other people including Arabs and expatriates of various nationalities for donating blood in various parts of the Kingdom. A number of companies have also donated medicine and medical equipment for shipment to Gaza hospitals, he added. Jamous said the Committee for Helping Palestinian People was set up in 1967 and works under direct supervision of Prince Salman, Emir of Riyadh. Besides contributions from philanthropists, Palestinians working in Saudi Arabia donated five percent of their salaries, he said. The amount so collected is used to pay the monthly expenses of the families of martyrs and dependents of those 11,000 Palestinians now in Israeli jails, he said. “To date the Committee, which has offices in 10 other locations in Saudi Arabia has remitted SR1.8 billion,” he said. He said around 500,000 Palestinians are living in Saudi Arabia. Of this number around 70,000 are employed in various companies.
