UAE gives $800m of aid to Gaza, topping list of donor countries

The UAE was among the first countries to respond to the crisis with the Gallant Knight operation

In November, four UAE aid convoys packed with supplies entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing. Photo: Wam

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The UAE has contributed 42 per cent of the total aid sent to Gaza since the war broke out between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, topping the list of donor countries.

The UAE's aid contributions have been valued at $828 million, the German Press Agency (dpa) reported.

The Emirates was among the first countries to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with President Sheikh Mohamed launching the Gallant Knight operation to send vital aid by land, air and sea.

This week, the country sent a new batch of ambulances to Gaza. Last month, four UAE aid convoys packed with supplies entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing, carrying essential supplies and winter materials. The convoys consisted of 41 lorries carrying more than 514 tonnes of aid including food, medical items, children's nutritional supplements, clothing, shelter materials and hygiene packages for women, state news agency Wam reported.

Dr Richard Peeperkorn, representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the Palestinian Territory, thanked the UAE for its continuous support in bolstering Gaza’s struggling health services, including the medical evacuation of patients from Gaza.

Under Sheikh Mohamed's initiative to treat Palestinians in the country’s hospitals, 2,127 patients and companions have been brought to the UAE in 22 medical evacuations.

The UAE has also made substantial efforts to provide advanced care to sick and severely injured Palestinians. Since it began operations in December last year, the UAE Field Hospital in the Gaza Strip has treated 50,489 patients. A floating hospital anchored in Al Arish Port in Egypt has treated 7,554 patients since it was launched in February. The Emirates has established two other hospitals, one with a centre dedicated to providing prosthetic limbs for Palestinians injured in the war.

Stephen Anderson, World Food Programme representative to the Gulf Co-operation Council, pointed out that as food insecurity in Gaza reaches inhumane levels, the UAE's steadfast commitment to supporting the Palestinian people serves as an inspiring example.

So far, the UAE has helped deliver 4,021 tonnes of essential supplies after establishing a maritime corridor from Cyprus to Gaza with international partners. Additionally, the "Birds of Goodness" operation carried out 53 airdrops, delivering 3,623 tonnes of food and relief items to inaccessible areas.

In the space of a year, the UAE has sent 1,620 aid convoys, six shiploads of supplies and 519 airlifts carrying more than 47,000 tonnes of essential items.

Eltayeb Adam, Unicef area representative for the Gulf, emphasised the UAE's efforts to provide life-saving supplies and administer polio vaccines to more than 557,000 children under a $5 million pledge to the UN campaign is a testament to the strength of global solidarity.

A network of desalination plants established by the UAE has helped deliver more than 130 million gallons of clean drinking water to the Gaza Strip. The six plants, on the Rafah border, produce about 1.6 million gallons of water daily and have the capacity to serve up to 600,000 Palestinians.

The UAE has also provided refuge to wounded Gazans and helped them rebuild shattered lives at a dedicated treatment centre at Abu Dhabi's Emirates Humanitarian City.

Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Co-operation, recently told The National the aid deliveries are “part of the UAE’s continuing commitment to alleviate the immense suffering of Palestinians".

One year of war in Gaza – in pictures

Smoke rises after Israeli air strikes targeted Palestine Tower in Gaza city on October 7, 2023. EPA

Palestinians take control of an Israeli Merkava battle tank after crossing the border fence with Israel from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. AFP

This video grab from footage released by the Israeli Hostage and Missing Families Forum campaign group on May 22 shows what the group described as Israeli female soldiers being captured by Palestinian Hamas militants during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. AFP

Smoke rises following an Israeli air strike in Gaza city on October 9, 2023. EPA

A rocket is launched from the coastal Gaza strip towards Israel by militants of the Ezz Al-Din Al Qassam militia, the military wing of Hamas movement, in Gaza city. EPA

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, as seen from the city of Ashkelon, Israel, on October 9, 2023. Reuters

Lightning strikes as smoke billows following an Israeli air strike in Gaza city on October 9, 2023. AFP

An Israeli artillery unit fires at an area along the border with Gaza, southern Israel, on October 11, 2023. EPA

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish people carry their belongings before boarding a ship for US nationals and their immediate family members, as they leave Israel headed for Cyprus. Reuters

Palestinian youths take cover behind a rubbish container as they clash with Israeli forces at the northern entrance of the West Bank city of Ramallah near the Israeli settlement of Beit El on October 20, 2023. AFP

A man mourns as he attends a funeral of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 24, 2023. Reuters

A man holds a child, survivors of Israeli bombardment, as they are treated at a trauma ward at Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 24, 2023. AFP

People search for survivors and the bodies of victims through the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israeli bombardment in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 26, 2023. AFP

Anti-war protesters raise their 'bloody' hands behind US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on President Biden's $106 billion national security supplemental funding request to support Israel and Ukraine, as well as bolster border security, on Capitol Hill in Washington on October 31, 2023. Reuters

Palestinians run for cover after a strike near the Al Shifa hospital in Gaza city on November 1, 2023. AFP

Palestinian children run as they flee from Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on November 6, 2023. AFP

An injured Palestinian woman covered in dust and blood hugs an injured girl child at the hospital following the Israeli bombardment of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 15, 2023. AFP

Hostages released by Hamas Gal, left, and Tal Almog-Goldstein, second left, stand in a bus transporting them to an army base in Ofakim in southern Israel after they were released by the Palestinian militant group from the Gaza Strip on November 26, 2023. AFP

Palestinian boys stand in their makeshift tent at a camp set up on a schoolyard in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip where most civilians have taken refuge, on December 13, 2023. AFP

Palestinians fleeing the north through the Salaheddin road in the Zeitoun district on the southern outskirts of Gaza city, walk past Israeli army tanks on November 24, 2023. AFP

In this picture taken during a media tour organised by the Israeli military on December 15, 2023, soldiers visit a tunnel that Hamas reportedly used to attack Israel through the Erez border crossing on October 7. AFP

Jewish protesters block the passage of aid trucks being sent to Gaza in Ashdod, Israel on February 1, 2024. Reuters

A man pulls water containers as he walks past destroyed buildings in Khan Younis on May 5, 2024. AFP

Relatives of Hanan Yablonka, one of the Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip since the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants, mourn during his funeral in Tel Aviv on May 26. AFP

Humanitarian aid packages land after being dropped from a plane in Al Mawasi district of Khan Younis, on May 30, 2024. Reuters

Palestinians attend Eid al-Adha prayer in Khan Younis town, southern Gaza strip, on June 16. EPA

Displaced Palestinians play football in Jabalia on July 23, 2024. AFP

Palestinians injured in an Israeli strike on a school ride on the back of a cart in Deir Al Balah on July 27, 2024. AFP

Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in the northern Gaza Strip, September 11. Reuters

Palestinians survey the damage at the site of Israeli strikes on a displacement camp in Khan Younis on September 10, 2024. AFP

A medical staff member carries supplies through a destroyed section of Al Shifa hospital in Gaza city on September 17. AFP

People walk past makeshift graves in Gaza city on September 17. AFP