PUBLISHED ONAugust 19, 2025 3:57 AMBYSean LerSenior Minister of State for Defence Zaqy Mohamad visited personnel from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and a non-governmental organisation (NGO) at the King Abdullah II Air Base in Jordan on Monday (Aug 18).
SMS Zaqy, who was in Jordan for a working visit from Aug 17 to 18, also met with Major-General Yousef Huneiti, chairman of the Jordan Armed Forces' Joint Chiefs of Staff on Sunday (Aug 17).
Personnel from the Singapore Army, Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), as well as from NGO Humanity Matters, along with a C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, were deployed to deliver Singapore's ninth tranche of humanitarian aid for Gaza last Tuesday (Aug 12).
The aid comprised medical supplies from the Ministry of Health and food supplies from various NGOs. The relief effort was coordinated through the Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Coordination Centre.
Since the deployment, made at the invitation of the Jordanian government, the Singapore contingent has conducted one airdrop operation over Gaza.
This was closely coordinated with the Royal Jordanian Air Force and multinational air forces from a dozen countries.
In a media statement on Monday evening (Aug 18), the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said that various efforts were undertaken to execute the operation safely and minimise risk to civilians.
"These include multinational coordination of the drop zone selection and allocation, aided by commercial satellite imagery, up-to-date ground situation reports, and cross-sharing of lessons learnt," Mindef added in the statement.
SMS Zaqy also met with personnel from NGO Humanity Matters and thanked them for contributing additional humanitarian supplies which will be airdropped by the SAF in the coming days.
Sharing his reflections after visiting the Singapore contingent, SMS Zaqy said that despite its small size, Singapore "can make a difference here (in Gaza) and elsewhere in the world".
"This is more than just a military mission to get supplies to the families in Gaza.
"This is Singapore's collective effort representing our people's compassion and push for humanity," said SMS Zaqy.
He also revealed that Singapore has begun exploring with Egypt and Jordan on how Singapore may contribute medical support to complement their humanitarian efforts.
"We have deployed an advanced team to Egypt to continue to monitor the situation closely with our partners — ready to help when the situation allows, when the borders reopen," added SMS Zaqy.
Earlier in April, the SAF and Health Ministry announced that it would deploy a contingent to provide medical care to Palestinians and other civilians from Gaza who are being treated in Egypt.
In January last year, the SAF also deployed a medical team aboard the FS Dixmude — a reconfigured hospital ship operated by the French military — to help treat civilians in the ongoing conflict.
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