A UAE aid ship loaded with 4,000 tonnes of critical supplies destined to help needy civilians in Gaza on Friday docked at Egypt's Al Arish Port.
The Saqr Humanitarian Ship set sail from Ras Al Khaimah on January 22 as part of the UAE's continued relief campaign for the enclave.
The vessel - which was sent on the directives of Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah - carried food, shelter materials, winter clothing and medical products and equipment for Palestinians bearing the brunt of a humanitarian crisis caused by the two-year war with Israel.
“Today, we welcome the Saqr Humanitarian Ship — a vessel filled with love, generosity and brotherhood — carrying more than 4,000 tonnes of consumable goods, medical supplies, medicines, food items and dates," said Ahmed Rashid Al Zaabi, secretary general of the Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi Charity and Humanitarian Foundation.
"This shipment is a gift from the UAE to our brothers in the Gaza Strip on the occasion of the Holy Month of Ramadan.”
The ship was met in Egypt by the UAE Humanitarian Aid Team, which immediately began unloading the relief supplies and transporting them to its logistics centre in Al Arish, in preparation for their entry into the Gaza Strip.
Hamad Obaid Al Zaabi, UAE Ambassador to Egypt and Permanent Representative to the League of Arab States, hailed the contributions of the UAE Humanitarian Aid Team stationed in Al Arish to ensure the delivery of assistance to Gaza.
The aid ship is the 12th relief vessel dispatched by the UAE to support the Gaza Strip under the country's humanitarian campaign, launched in response to the outbreak of the war with Israel on October 7, 2023.
Stepping up support
International efforts to secure a lasting peace in Gaza are taking shape, as a fragile truce between Hamas and Israel holds.
A ceasefire in October halted two years of conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The war began when Hamas and other groups launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and abducting about 240.
Israel immediately began a large-scale campaign in Gaza that levelled most of the coastal enclave and killed at least 71,000 people.
The UAE has been at the forefront of aid delivery efforts to Gaza since the war began.
But experts have highlighted the need for an increased flow of aid to be allowed reach people in Gaza who are facing chronic food shortages and limited access to health services.
The recent partial opening at Rafah, the sole crossing point between Egypt and Palestine, has enabled about 165,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid to flow into the strip, but experts said significantly more is required.
“In Gaza, the needs are enormous, they’re huge,” Lana Al Wreikat, Gulf director of Unicef, told The National at the World Governments Summit in Dubai this week. “With just one crossing, to continue to respond through a supply line is not enough. We're talking about a situation where there is severe malnutrition.
“Education was disrupted and we have a huge number of unaccompanied children separated from their families, and a decreased capacity across social services. We cannot continue to speak about only one basically corridor and a pipeline – that's why we really need to rally more support.”
