Aid teams in the Gaza Strip have started distributing the first batch of aid from the UAE’s Saqr Humanitarian Ship after its arrival.
The vessel carried 4,000 tonnes of essential goods from Ras Al Khaimah to Al Arish Port in Egypt, about 50km from the Gaza border, as part of Operation Gallant Knight 3.
Convoys loaded with tonnes of relief parcels have now entered the Gaza Strip, state news agency Wam reported. The first consignments reached northern Gaza carrying assistance provided by the Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi Charity and Humanitarian Foundation.
Teams are distributing 4,000 tonnes of food aid and shelter materials, including winter clothing, in addition to medicine and medical equipment.
The assistance aims to alleviate the suffering of civilians and address urgent humanitarian needs, particularly for children, women and the elderly, ahead of Ramadan.
The holy month is expected to begin on Thursday, February 19, but the start will be confirmed by the sighting of the crescent moon across the Arab world.
UAE's aid contribution
The Saqr Humanitarian Ship is the 12th relief vessel sent by the UAE to support Gaza. The country's humanitarian campaign was launched in response to the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, 2023.
A ceasefire in October halted two years of war that began when Hamas and other groups attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and abducting 240.
Israel immediately began a large-scale military campaign in Gaza that levelled most of the coastal enclave and killed at least 72,000 people.
On Thursday, another UAE humanitarian ship, the Umm Al Emarat humanitarian, set sail from Abu Dhabi laden with supplies bound for Gaza.
