UAE’s Support for Gaza: Record Efforts and Humanitarian Leadership
Through the largest medical evacuation operation ever carried out, following the arrival of the largest aid ship, the UAE continues its record efforts to support the people of Gaza.
This comes weeks after the UAE succeeded in reaching Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, becoming the first country to reach the city and provide humanitarian aid to its residents who have returned to their homes after months of displacement.
Efforts continue on various political, diplomatic, and humanitarian fronts, through successive initiatives by which the UAE and its leadership soothe the hearts of the people of Gaza, trying to heal their wounds and alleviate their pain in a region suffering under continuous Israeli bombardment since October 7.
The UAE, through these initiatives, has written a humanitarian epic led by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, placing the country at the forefront of nations supporting the people of Gaza in particular and humanitarian work in general, a path documented by facts on the ground and confirmed by figures, highlighting the UAE’s record efforts in supporting the region.
The Largest Medical Evacuation Operation
In the latest of these efforts, the UAE succeeded in carrying out an urgent medical evacuation for 148 Palestinians and their companions to Abu Dhabi.
The UAE, in partnership with the World Health Organization, announced on Tuesday evening an emergency initiative to evacuate 85 critically ill and injured patients – including cancer patients needing intensive treatment – along with 63 of their family members to Abu Dhabi, from Ramon Airport in Israel, via the Kerem Shalom crossing to receive medical care in UAE hospitals.
This initiative underscores the importance of urgent humanitarian intervention to save lives, and embodies the UAE’s strong commitment to supporting the Palestinian people in Gaza during the catastrophic circumstances surrounding the region. The various communication channels of the UAE have facilitated humanitarian efforts to provide support to the residents of Gaza and to assist them in times of need.
Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation, said: “At this critical time, we cannot express how important this mission is to evacuate wounded and sick Palestinians to Abu Dhabi.”
She added: “This unprecedented move reflects the severity of the humanitarian situation and our commitment to alleviating the suffering of the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip and ensuring the delivery and distribution of relief aid through all available means, whether by land, sea, or air. This initiative also confirms the UAE’s permanent and historical support for the Palestinian people, based on our strong belief in the importance of providing immediate relief and promoting peace to address immense suffering.”
Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashimy highlighted that the UAE has received 709 patients from the Gaza Strip, along with 787 of their family members, to receive medical care in the country’s hospitals under the directives of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, to treat 2,000 injured and cancer patients from the region.
She added: “This expansion in the UAE’s efforts reflects our solidarity with the Palestinian people and our determination to alleviate their suffering and ensure broad and sustainable access to aid without obstacles through all available means. The UAE also confirms its keen and continuous commitment to cooperation with international partners to ensure that aid reaches those most in need.”
World Health Organization Director, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, thanked the UAE for evacuating patients and wounded from the Gaza Strip to Abu Dhabi.
The organization’s director wrote on his “X” platform account: “Today, 85 critically ill and injured patients were evacuated from Gaza, including 35 children, to receive specialized care in Abu Dhabi.”
He added: “This joint and highly complex evacuation was supported by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the World Health Organization,” noting that it is the largest medical evacuation operation since October 2023.
He continued: “Patients suffer from cancer, injuries, blood diseases, congenital and neurological conditions, heart, liver, and kidney diseases, and they were accompanied by 63 family members and caregivers.”
He added: “We are grateful to the UAE for organizing the evacuation of these patients for urgent care.”
He expressed hope that “this initiative will pave the way for the establishment of evacuation corridors through all available means, including the Kerem Shalom crossing to Jordan and the Rafah crossing to Egypt, and from there to other countries.”
He called for “the resumption of evacuation operations to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, where thousands of patients suffer. And above all, as always, the World Health Organization calls for a ceasefire.”
The Largest Aid Ship
This comes days after the arrival of the fourth UAE aid ship to support the people of Gaza, last Thursday, at the port of Al-Arish in Egypt’s North Sinai governorate, in preparation for unloading its cargo into the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing, in coordination with Egyptian authorities.
This ship is the largest UAE aid ship sent to the Gaza Strip in terms of cargo and the diversity of its contents, carrying 5,340 tons of relief and food supplies, including 4,134 tons of food parcels, totaling 145,000 packages, 145 tons of rice and flour, 110 tons of water distributed in 200,000 bottles, over 4,000 tents, 42,000 hygiene kits for women and children, and 18 tons of sun, wind, and dust-resistant blankets, and 1,600 relief bags.
The ship departed from the port of Fujairah in the UAE on July 8 as part of the “Gallant Knight 3” operation launched by the UAE under the directives of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to support Palestinians in Gaza, considering the difficult conditions that Palestinians have been experiencing over the past few months.
This ship is the fourth to reach Al-Arish as part of the “Gallant Knight 3” initiative, and the eighth aid ship from the UAE to the Gaza Strip.
The aid on this ship was provided by the Emirates Red Crescent, the Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, and the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation for Humanitarian Works, through 313 trucks that unloaded their cargo onto the ship, reflecting the ability of UAE institutions to plan and execute operations.
Leadership Continues
In its continuous humanitarian efforts to support Gaza and its leadership in this regard, the United Arab Emirates successfully reached the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip last April, becoming the first country to deliver thousands of food parcels, essential supplies, food, and bread by sending trucks loaded with humanitarian aid to relieve residents after their return to homes they had left for several months.
The “Gallant Knight 3” operation, the largest relief operation in the Gaza Strip, rushed to meet the needs of those who lost all means of livelihood in Khan Younis, where an extensive relief campaign is currently underway in the city, distributing relief parcels and essential supplies in a broad humanitarian step aimed at supporting the residents of Khan Younis and easing their burden amid the lack of basic life necessities in the city and the residents’ inability to meet their needs.
As part of the relief efforts made by the United Arab Emirates in the Gaza Strip, the “Gallant Knight 3” operation continued its campaign to provide humanitarian aid in various provinces of the Gaza Strip, to rescue distressed Palestinian families and provide them with food, tents, and essential supplies in light of the catastrophic conditions that the Strip has been experiencing for several months.
Humanitarian Epic
Currently, the United Arab Emirates is writing a historical political, diplomatic, and humanitarian epic, with unrelenting support for the residents of Gaza and Palestine at various levels, a path documented by facts on the ground.
Since the beginning of the Israeli escalation in Gaza on October 7, the United Arab Emirates has intensified its humanitarian efforts to support and relieve the people of the Gaza Strip, following the directives of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, who ordered the launch of the “Gallant Knight 3” initiative on November 5, to be the UAE’s humanitarian arm to support the people of Gaza.
In Numbers:
- The UAE has provided the Gaza Strip with more than 40,000 tons of urgent aid, including food, relief supplies, and medical supplies through 8 ships, 337 air flights, 50 air drops, and 1,271 trucks.
- The UAE has opened a field hospital inside the Gaza Strip with a capacity of over 200 beds, supervised by a UAE medical team comprising more than 100 doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and lab technicians, and another floating hospital in Al-Arish, Egypt, with a capacity of 100 beds.
- The UAE established 6 water desalination plants (with a total capacity of 1.2 million gallons of water), benefiting up to 600,000 people daily to supply the residents of the Gaza Strip with drinking water.
- Additionally, the UAE established 5 automatic bakeries to secure the daily bread needs of more than 72,000 people, and provided flour to 8 existing bakeries in Gaza to supply bread for more than 17,000 others.
- The UAE also announced the hosting of a thousand Palestinians with cancer from the Gaza Strip from various age groups, to receive treatment and all types of healthcare they need in the UAE hospitals.
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Emirati land and air bridge… Massive aid shipment on its way to Gaza
Moreover, they will host a thousand Palestinian children along with their families from the Gaza Strip, to provide all the medical and healthcare they need in UAE hospitals until they recover and return.
These initiatives reflect the UAE’s approach and leadership and their historical commitment to supporting the Palestinian people and alleviating the humanitarian crisis they are facing.
