UAE aid convoy enters Gaza with food and relief kits for children

Thirteen aid lorries sent by the Emirates arrived in the Palestinian enclave on Wednesday night

An Emirati aid convoy of 13 lorries arrived in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday night. Photo: Wam

A UAE aid convoy carrying essential food and relief kits for children arrived in Gaza on Wednesday night.

The food supplies, which are to be used in community kitchens and to keep bakeries running, were delivered in 13 lorries which entered the Gaza Strip.

This latest assistance is part of the UAE's humanitarian operation in support of Palestinians in the besieged enclave, which was launched in response to the outbreak of war with Israel on October 7, 2023.

The UAE's Operation Chivalrous Knight 3, ordered by President Sheikh Mohamed, is being conducted in collaboration with Emirates Red Crescent, and humanitarian and charitable institutions in the UAE.

More than 55,000 tonnes of aid has been delivered on more than 500 flights, six transport ships and 2,500 lorries under the initiative.

 In a separate Birds of Goodness operation, more than 3,700 tonnes of humanitarian aid has been dropped from the air by parachute into areas inaccessible over land.

The latest aid delivery contained food supplies and relief kits for children. Wam

The UAE this month sent an aid ship carrying 2,500 tonnes of aid for the people of Gaza.

That shipment, which initially docked at Ashdod port in Israel ahead of being sent on to Gaza, was laden with food packages containing essential goods such as flour, dates, milk and tea, state news agency Wam reported on July 2.

The crucial support comes as the EU on Thursday struck a deal with Israel to increase the amount of aid entering Gaza.

It should lead to more lorries delivering food and the opening of additional border crossing points, the bloc's foreign affairs chief said.

“Today, we reached an agreement with Israel to expand humanitarian access to Gaza,” Kaja Kallas wrote on X.

“This deal means more crossings open, aid and food trucks entering Gaza, repair of vital infrastructure and protection of aid workers. We count on Israel to implement every measure agreed.”

Gaza's two million residents are facing dire humanitarian conditions as Israel has severely limited the entry of aid during its war with Hamas.

The Gazan Health Ministry says 57,762 people have been killed and 137,656 wounded since the start of the conflict.

Fighting has displaced nearly all of Gaza's 2.3 million people while triggering a hunger and health crisis in the enclave.

The war began when Hamas led an attack on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,400 people and abducting around 240.