UAE/ Two years of support and humanitarian relief for the Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip

Abu Dhabi, 12 October / WAM / Tomorrow, Monday, marks two years since the UAE announced the launch of the “Compassion for Gaza” campaign, which constituted the first of the UAE’s continuous efforts and initiatives since October 2023 to provide relief to the Palestinian brothers affected by the war in the Gaza Strip, and to reduce its humanitarian repercussions on them.
Over the past two years, the UAE has led vigorous diplomatic movements and efforts at the regional and international levels in order to end the war in the Gaza Strip, and has worked to mobilize the largest international support to stop the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip and provide urgent humanitarian aid without obstacles.
The UAE welcomed the steps taken by many countries regarding the recognition of the sisterly State of Palestine, stressing that these positions reflect growing international support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. It also welcomed the agreement on the first phase of the ceasefire framework in Gaza, which was announced last Thursday, expressing its hope that this agreement will constitute a positive step towards ending human suffering in the Strip.
Over the past two years, the UAE has emerged as the largest donor of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, as its aid represented 44% of the total international aid it received, according to UN reports.
Through “Operation Gallant Knight 3”, the UAE succeeded in ensuring continuity of humanitarian and relief support to the Gaza Strip by all land, sea and air routes. The total humanitarian aid provided since the start of the operation until September 14 last year amounted to more than 90 thousand tons, at a cost of $1.8 billion.
In addition to land convoys and ships, the UAE carried out 81 airdrops, during which it dropped more than 4,076 tons of food aid and necessary supplies on the Gaza Strip, as part of Operation “Birds of Goodness.”
The UAE has contributed to alleviating the suffering of hunger and thirst suffered by the Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip through sustainable initiatives on the ground, such as sending a number of automatic bakeries into the Strip, as well as providing flour and other requirements to operate more than 50 field bakeries to produce bread daily.
The UAE supported the operation of a number of field kitchens in the Gaza Strip, in addition to more than 50 charitable hospices working to provide hot meals daily to affected families. It also implemented, through the Emirates Red Crescent Authority, during the last month of Ramadan, iftar programs for fasting people, which included distributing 13 million breakfast meals, and providing the needs of 44 hospices throughout the holy month, benefiting more than two million people, in addition to providing the needs of 17 bakeries serving 3 million and 120 thousand. person.
To confront the thirst crisis that threatens the lives of more than two million Palestinians in Gaza, the UAE opened a water pipeline project from the Emirati desalination plants in Egyptian territory to the Gaza Strip, in a qualitative step aimed at securing desalinated water for tens of thousands of families who have been suffering from a stifling thirst crisis since the outbreak of war.
The UAE’s largest water line extends 7 kilometers and 500 metres, with a production of about 2 million gallons per day, and serves more than a million people. It has also been linked to the Buraq reservoir in Khan Yunis with a capacity of 5,000 m³ to supply additional large areas with water.
The UAE launched a group of projects to implement the work of drilling and maintaining drinking water wells in the Gaza Strip. It also implemented projects to maintain sewage networks in a number of areas, in addition to sending a large number of tanks designated for transporting fresh water.
The UAE provided significant assistance to the health sector within the Gaza Strip, which contributed to saving it from complete collapse and final exit from service.
Since its inauguration in December 2023, the integrated Emirati field hospital within the Gaza Strip continues to provide its therapeutic services to the people of the Strip, through specialized and qualified staff in various medical fields and branches, in addition to medical volunteers.
The UAE, through the hospital, launched a specific humanitarian initiative to install prosthetic limbs for injured people who have been subjected to amputation, with the aim of supporting their rehabilitation and enabling them to restore their normal lives.
The UAE sent an integrated floating hospital off the coast of the Egyptian city of Al-Arish to provide the necessary medical support to our Palestinian brothers. It includes a medical and administrative staff from various specialties, including anesthesia, general surgery, orthopedics, and emergencies, in addition to nurses and auxiliary professions.
The UAE continues to transfer critical medical cases to its territory for treatment and provide them with the required care, within the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, may God protect him, to provide treatment for 1,000 wounded Palestinian children and 1,000 people suffering from cancer, and to provide them with the necessary health care in state hospitals. The total number of patients and companions transported to the Emirates reached about 2,785 people.
The medical aid provided by the UAE to our Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip includes various types of medicines and medical equipment, in addition to ambulances.
The UAE implemented a comprehensive vaccination campaign against polio for more than 640,000 children in the Gaza Strip, in cooperation with the World Health Organization.

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