The UAE is to stage a wedding for 54 couples living in the Gaza Strip to help bring renewed hope and joy to embattled communities devastated by war.
The initiative has been launched as part of the country's 54th National Day celebrations next month and as a show of solidarity with Palestinian civilians forced to bear the brunt of the two-year conflict with Israel.
On Sunday, the UAE called on Gazan grooms to register for the group wedding project and take a crucial step towards rebuilding their lives as a fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel holds.
The scheme has been organised as part of the UAE's continuing humanitarian campaign for Palestine, established in response to the war, which broke out on October 7, 2023. Applicants must be Palestinians who live permanently in the Gaza Strip and are already engaged. The planned date and location of the event was not disclosed.
The coming ceremony is the latest demonstration of the UAE government's efforts to ensure love can endure against the backdrop of war. Emirates Humanitarian City in Abu Dhabi, which is providing shelter to more than 2,000 Palestinians, many of whom are undergoing cancer treatment, celebrated its second wedding in July.
“The Gazans have been through so much, and this is the least we could do for them,” said Mubarak Al Qahtani, spokesman for the EHC, which will cover all costs for the wedding. The gesture comes as the UAE seeks to intensify its relief efforts in Gaza and ease the humanitarian crisis that has beset the enclave.
A US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza came into effect last month, raising hopes that peace and stability can be restored following the two-year conflict that has killed nearly 70,000 people. Much of Gaza's population of more than two million has been displaced by the war, with chronic food shortages and limited access to health services and aid.
An Emirati aid ship carrying 7,200 tonnes of essential supplies for Palestinians docked at Egypt's Al Arish Port on October 30, ahead of its transfer to the Gaza Strip. The vessel – called the UAE Humanitarian Ship – set sail from the Emirates on October 17 laden with 4,680 tonnes of food, 2,160 tonnes of shelter materials, tents and clothing, and 360 tonnes of medical goods and four water tanks.
The UAE has also carried out 29 evacuation flights, with 2,961 sick and wounded Palestinians and companions flown to the Emirates for treatment.
