Swiss govt: proposing further $99 mln in aid to Middle East region

The Swiss government will ask parliament for additional funds to provide 90 million Swiss francs' ($99.04 million) worth of humanitarian aid to the Middle East, it said on Wednesday.

The funds will go mainly to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRC), the UN and international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that offer aid to people in the region affected by the armed conflict.

"The humanitarian consequences of the armed conflict in the Middle East are dire in Israel, in the occupied Palestinian territory and in the neighbouring countries affected," said the Swiss Federal Council in a statement. ($1 = 0.9087 Swiss francs) (Writing by Miranda Murray, Editing by Rachel More)