Singapore links 4 aid groups to strengthen Gaza relief

Singapore formed SG for Humanity with four humanitarian organisations on Thursday, Nov. 5, to coordinate Gaza relief, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth said in a press release.

The initiative gives Singapore a government-backed platform for a relief effort already reaching large numbers: MCCY said Mercy Relief has helped 326,370 Gaza beneficiaries since November 2023, compared with at least 260,000 cited for Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation.

MCCY said it would facilitate the network with Humanity Matters, Mercy Relief, Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation and Singapore Red Cross as initial partners. The ministry said the organisations would keep running their own programmes while using the network for joint initiatives, overseas links, fundraising and volunteering.

Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Zaqy Mohamad said at Humanity Matters’ headquarters in Geylang that his involvement in four Gaza humanitarian missions had shown him Singapore could do more. “So, to me, the willingness to help is there. We need to create more ways for Singaporeans to act,” he said.

Zaqy said the network aimed to close gaps in getting aid to intended recipients. “It’s not just about raising funds or collecting supplies. We want to work closely with our partners overseas to ensure that families and children who need it most get the help they need,” he said.

The launch was led by Zaqy, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim, and Baey Yam Keng, minister of state at MCCY and the Ministry of Transport. Zhulkarnain said the four groups brought capabilities including medical treatment, water treatment, food assistance and mobile clinics.

Zhulkarnain said the government would help the groups work with recognised foreign partners and deal with regulatory and security requirements in countries where they operate. “We want to make sure that our Singaporean contributions and donations are channelled in the right way, and would be received by the communities that would benefit directly from those contributions,” he said.

The participating groups have built separate Gaza relief channels since the conflict began. MCCY said Humanity Matters has run two fundraising drives and 10 overseas deployments through Egypt and Jordan between November 2023 and October this year, facilitating more than 100 tonnes of aid, a cargo scale separate from beneficiary counts reported by other partners.

MCCY said Mercy Relief has held two Gaza fundraising campaigns since November 2023. Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation, set up by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore in 2009, has run five campaigns in the past three years and helped at least 260,000 beneficiaries through partners including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the ministry said.

MCCY said Singapore Red Cross has worked with organisations including the Egyptian Red Crescent and Palestine Red Crescent Society, reaching 158,900 people in Gaza through four fundraising campaigns. A Singapore Red Cross and Egyptian Red Crescent truck carrying tents for an estimated 6,500 displaced people entered Gaza in October 2025, Channel NewsAsia reported.

Zaqy said humanitarian work faced access restrictions around Gaza and the broader security situation in the Middle East. He said Singapore had previously joined humanitarian airdrops, but those operations depended on available access windows.