(Photo National Institute of Information and Communications Technology / Handout via Reuters)
By Jerusalem Post Staff, Reuters - January 16, 2022
Israel is exploring options to provide aid to Tonga after the archipelago was hit by a volcanic eruption and a tsunami on Saturday, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announced on Sunday.
"On behalf of the people of Israel, I send my heartfelt sympathy to the people of Tonga impacted by the recent volcanic eruption & tsunami," tweeted Lapid. "Israel is exploring options to provide assistance, including ensuring access to safe drinking water, through our aid agency, Mashav."
MASHAV was launched in 1957 to provide humanitarian aid and to share Israeli expertise with developing nations regarding a variety of topics to help train professionals in medicine, development, education and agriculture.
Tsunami-hit Tonga remained largely uncontactable on Sunday with telephone and internet links severed, leaving relatives in faraway New Zealand praying for their families on the Pacific islands as casualty reports had yet to come through.
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