Pavel in Israel: Israeli aid to Palestinian civilians enormous

Speaking on a two-day visit to Israel, the Czech president, Petr Pavel, said on Tuesday that the Israeli Army is providing enormous aid to Palestinian civilians. Mr. Pavel said the vast majority of such aid was not even known about. He told journalists Israel was supplying drinking water to Gaza but Hamas was destroying the pipelines, as it did not want Israel to be seen as the provider of humanitarian aid.

The Czech head of state visited the location of Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 and met relatives of some people kidnapped by Hamas, who he said asked him for help in achieving their return. Mr. Pavel said he had not made empty promises to the families but told them that all he could do was reach out to statesmen who could do something in this regard.

On Wednesday he will hold talks with leaders in Qatar, which is trying to mediate negotiations between Hamas and Israel.