Gazan refugee who fled war works with UAE to send aid back home

Displaced civilians explain how they escaped death and are now working to help others get the help they need

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A displaced Gazan man who fled the war says he is proud to be packing humanitarian aid for his people, thanks to the UAE’s mission to Gaza.

Mahmoud Ahmed Al Shaer, from Khan Younis, escaped across the Rafah border crossing to Egypt on January 3 last year.

After months without a job, the 43-year-old secured work at the UAE aid stores in Al Arish, Egypt. “We escaped death, but I couldn’t support my family for many months here in Egypt,” the father of six told The National. “I met the Emirati people here and they offered me a job as they knew I’m from Gaza.”

Mr Al Shaer, who moved with his family, started working in the UAE’s warehouses packing humanitarian supplies. “Knowing I’m helping my people in Gaza makes me proud,” he said.

Mahmoud Ahmed packs supplies for Gaza at the UAE aid warehouse in Al Arish, Egypt. Pawan Singh / The National

“The Israeli soldiers reached our home and we decided to evacuate the area. We kept moving from one place to another until we were allowed to cross to Al Arish,” said Mr Al Shaer, reflecting on the outbreak of war in October 2023.

“I lived in an apartment at a four-storey building. It was destroyed by an Israeli air strike. It became a pile of rubble. My shop was burnt and destroyed. I lost many relatives including my cousin. This war is a tragedy that nobody can imagine.”

How the UAE helped

When Mr Al Shaer was displaced in Gaza, the UAE field hospital provided medical care after he and his family suffered stomach pains from drinking salty water.

“The UAE’s kindness and assistance were with me during my journey in the conflict. Emirati doctors treated us and now they provide me a job to support my family,” he said. “Emiratis treat me with respect like a brother. They are always checking if we need anything.”

When Mr Al Shaer escorted aid lorries to the Rafah border crossing, he was shocked to see Emiratis spending the night waiting for lorries to make sure the aid entered Gaza safely.

“The UAE is the biggest country sending aid to Gaza. I saw Emirati volunteers standing near the border in the middle of nowhere in summer and winter, to make sure the aid [was] crossing the border,” he said. “You can’t see this dedication anywhere. I was helping them while packing and loading the air drops to my people in Gaza.”

Anwar Mohammed from Gaza is working at the UAE aid warehouse in Al Arish. Pawan Singh / The National

For 18-year-old Anwar Mohammed, who left Gaza days before the border closed last year, the mission was to find a job to help support his two brothers and sister.

“I don’t go to school, I work to support my family. Thanks to the UAE I managed to get a job in the UAE stores,” he said. “When the bombardment reached our area in Khan Younis, my family decided to leave.”

“I feel proud knowing I’m helping my people and family members who are still in Gaza. They need help and the UAE is leading the efforts to aid Gazans,” he added.

UAE mission

The UAE has carried out more than 53 drops of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip as part of the Birds of Goodness operation, with 3,544 tonnes of food and relief supplies dropped in total, according to the Joint Operations Command of the Ministry of Defence.

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

The field hospital in the southern Gaza Strip has 200 beds and more than 100 doctors, nurses, pharmacists and lab technicians. It has treated thousands of patients since it opened in December.

A 100-bed floating hospital, docked off the Egyptian city of Al Arish since February, has treated more than 6,400 Palestinians. Dr Ali Rashed Al Dhanhani, its deputy medical director, said “The UAE has spared no efforts throughout these difficult days to show that it does not simply pledge but makes efforts through action to help our Palestinian brothers and sisters.”

Dr Ali Rashed Al Danhani, deputy medical director of the UAE floating hospital docked off Al Arish. Pawan Singh / The National

The hospital has the capacity for 15 operations and 25 physiotherapy sessions per day. 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.

Providing clean water

The UAE has also established six desalination plants, capable of generating up to 2 million gallons of clean drinking water a day for thousands of people.

The National visited the site, only 500 metres from Gaza, where Emiratis are working around the clock to pump water into the enclave.

Engineer Nasser Al Hajeri at the UAE desalination plants in Al Arish, Egypt. Pawan Singh / The National

About 3,200 metres of pipeline runs across the border to the water network in Rafah. The plants take in seawater from the Mediterranean, which is then filtered and piped underground to Gaza.

At the Emirates' massive warehouses at Al Arish, tonnes of essential aid, including nappies, blankets, canned food, flour, rice and medicine are stockpiled for distribution.

“We store the aid as well as electricity generators, bakeries and shelter tents in warehouses which stretch for 15,000 square metres,” said Ali Ahmed Al Muheiri from Emirates Red Crescent.