UAE aid to Gaza in numbers: Almost 50,000 tonnes of urgent supplies now delivered

Ministry of Foreign Affairs reveals how much aid the Emirates has provided to the besieged enclave

Since November, the UAE has delivered nearly 50,000 tonnes of essential supplies to Gaza. Photo: Wam

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The UAE has provided almost 50,000 tonnes of urgent supplies to Gaza since November, when the country launched its aid mission to help those affected by the war in the enclave.

The figures, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, show that 32,000 tonnes of aid was delivered by 260 flights and 1,243 lorries up until May 13.

Three aid ships also set off with 13,190 tonnes of aid to Egypt’s Al Arish Port, to be distributed to Gaza as part of an operation called Gallant Knight 3.

Two hospitals have also been established as part of the UAE's programme to help those in need in Gaza, including one with a centre for amputees to provide prosthetic limbs to Palestinians wounded during the war.

UAE aid in Gaza – in pictures

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  Palestinians rush to intercept humanitarian aid packages as they land in the northern Gaza Strip, dropped by a UAE plane in a joint effort with Egypt. All photos: AFP

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  Men carry boxes of aid through the rubble of damaged buildings after the airdrop

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  The packages are a lifeline for many amid the continuing war in the Gaza Strip

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  A youth carries a box of aid to his family

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  The additional supplies – including food – were sent by parachute into remote areas

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  The UAE has been donating humanitarian relief to Gaza since shortly after the latest war began

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  A man collects this aid package from the UAE-Egypt airdrop

These include a field hospital in the southern Gaza Strip with more than 100 doctors, nurses, pharmacists and lab technicians. Since December 2, 20,503 cases have been treated.

The field hospital facility is used for general surgery and orthopaedics, while also offering anaesthetic services and intensive care for children and adults. It also offers internal medicine, dentistry, family medicine and psychiatric treatment.

The UAE has also provided a 100-bed floating hospital in Al Arish Port. The repurposed vessel – which has 100 medical and administrative staff on board – will remain docked off the coast of Al Arish to support relief efforts for Gaza.

It has operating rooms, intensive care facilities, a laboratory, a pharmacy and medical warehouses. The vast ship, which sailed from Khalifa Port, also has an evacuation plane and boat, as well as fully equipped ambulances.

About 671 people from Gaza have also been brought to the UAE for medical treatment, accompanied by 735 family members.

Six desalination plants were provided by the UAE, capable of generating up to 1.2 million gallons of clean drinking water a day to 600,000 people.

The UAE also supplied five automated bakeries in Gaza which produces bread for up to 72,000 people, and enough flour for eight existing bakeries, which is helping to feed 17,140 people each day.

It comes after the UAE delivered a fully equipped ambulance and an X-ray machine to serve Al Marwani Field Hospital in the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health expressed its gratitude to the Emirates for its assistance, as hospitals and clinics struggle to remain operational amid a barrage of Israeli attacks.

Sultan Al Kabi, the director of the hospital, told The National on Saturday that despite the continuing shelling and Israeli operations in Rafah presenting challenges, the hospital is determined to deliver services.

“The UAE field hospital continues to receive injured people and provide treatment to patients despite the current situation in Rafah city,” Mr Al Kabi said.

Watch: Palestinians start fleeing Rafah as Israeli assault begins