Sana'a - Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh ordered a major fundraising campaign for the Palestinians as Israeli air strikes on the Gaza strip continued Friday, the official Saba news agency said.

Saleh entrusted a local pro-Palestinian NGO with leading the country-wide campaign, the agency said.

He urged Yemenis to "open-handedly contribute for their Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip who are subjected to the barbaric aggression and atrocities by the Zionist occupation forces," Saba said.

Saleh also ordered an "urgent shipment of medical and food supplies" to Gaza through Egypt.

Last week, Saleh called on his fellow Arab leaders to hold an emergency summit to discuss the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip. (dpa)