SINGAPORE: A medical contingent will be deployed to Egypt to treat Palestinians and other civilians from Gaza, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said on Wednesday (Apr 16).

It will consist of personnel from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and Ministry of Health (MOH).

An advanced party will go over to work with the Egyptian authorities and assess the situation, “(paving) the way for the deployment of the main team, supplies and equipment”, MINDEF added.

Eight personnel from SAF will depart for Egypt on Apr 16, while one from MOH will join the team on Apr 22.

MINDEF did not state how large the contingent would be. It told CNA that the advanced party would return in around two weeks' time and thereafter, a decision would be made on the size of the contingent.

“The number of residents from Gaza that can be helped in Egyptian hospitals will be many times compared to previous SAF efforts,” it said in its news release.

Some recent missions coordinated by MINDEF were the deliveries of relief supplies through an MRTT aircraft, airdropping operations for supplies into Gaza via its C-130 aircraft and the deployment of a medical team on board a French hospital ship.

Before the advance party departed, members had a send-off meeting with Minister of Defence Ng Eng Hen, Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Second Minister for Health, and Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Senior Minister of State for Defence.

They commended the team for its commitment and professionalism "in this important and meaningful humanitarian effort to relieve the suffering of Palestinians”.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023, Singapore has sent seven tranches of humanitarian assistance for Gaza, amounting to more than S$19 million (US$14 million).

In February, a Republic of Singapore Air Force plane delivered nine tonnes of medical, food and hygiene supplies to Jordan.

On Monday, Israel proposed a 45-day ceasefire to the conflict.

If accepted, militant group Hamas will release 10 hostages and Israel will release 1,231 Palestinians while allowing humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory, which has been fully blocked since Mar 2.

In April, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that the situation in Gaza is “likely the worst it has been” since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict. 

A previous ceasefire in January resulted in the release of 33 hostages in exchange for about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners, before it collapsed two months later.

Palestinian officials said that more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli offensive in Gaza, news agency Reuters reported.

Israel began its offensive after thousands of Hamas-led gunmen attacked communities in southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting about 250 as hostages, Israeli tallies showed.