More than 5,800 tonnes of aid for Gaza left the UAE on Friday morning as part of the country's Gallant Knight 3 operation.
The aid, consisting of food, shelters, medicine and medical equipment, is the country's biggest shipment yet in its continuing campaign to help the people of the enclave.
The ship sailed from Al Hamriya Port in Dubai, carrying 5,820 tonnes of aid, 20 tonnes more than the previous largest amount. It will arrive during the holy month of Ramadan and is the seventh such vessel the UAE has sent.
The shipment is expected to reach Al Arish Port in Egypt during the second week of March.
“The UAE always stands with its brothers in Palestine,” Emirates Red Crescent Secretary General Hamoud Al Junaibi told The National. “The speed by which these shipments reach their destination is astonishing, the total sent since the campaign began is almost 55,000 tonnes.
“With this ship, that number will go beyond 60,000 tonnes. The work will be continuous and the support ongoing for our brothers and sisters in Palestine.”
UAE delivers vital support
Last weekend the UAE sent 300 tonnes of essential food supplies to Gaza to support Palestinians during Ramadan.
A plane carrying the first 100 tonnes of staple goods – including flour, rice and cooking ingredients – took off from Fujairah International Airport for Al Arish on Friday. Two more planes – each carrying 100 tonnes of food – took off from Ras Al Khaimah on Saturday and Sunday.
Launched in 2023, Operation Gallant Knight 3 is carried out in collaboration with the Emirates Red Crescent and humanitarian and charitable institutions in the UAE.
Aid has been delivered by air, sea and land, with more than 500 flights, six transport ships, and 2,500 lorries used to carry goods from Egypt into Gaza. Additionally, an air-drop operation has delivered more than 3,700 tonnes of humanitarian aid by parachute to otherwise inaccessible areas.
Most of Gaza's residents have been displaced by the fighting and many areas have been reduced to rubble.
