2007-06-18 15:48:02 -

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - Jordan announced Monday that it was sending 450 tons of food and medical supplies to the Gaza Strip to help stave off a humanitarian crisis there.
A royal palace statement said the aid, worth millions of dollars, will be dispatched overland Tuesday upon the orders of Jordan's King Abdullah II. Jordan borders

Israel, but Gaza is located on the opposite side of the Jewish state.
«King Abdullah has requested the dispatch of food aid and other urgent humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip to alleviate human suffering caused by a shortage in basic foodstuffs and other commodities,» the palace statement said.
Residents of Gaza are suffering following recent fighting between the militant Hamas and moderate Fatah groups. The fighting subsided when Hamas took control of Gaza, effectively splitting the Palestinian territories. Fatah remains in control of the West Bank.
Monday's statement quoted Abdul-Salam Abbadi, the Secretary of the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization, as saying that more shipments will follow soon. «We hope the current shipment will find its way into Gaza soon,» he added.

Jordan has sent at least 226 aid convoys of food and medical supplies worth 48 million Jordanian Dinars (US$ 68 million; ¤ 51 million) to the West Bank and Gaza over the past three years, according to the statement.