The UAE's floating hospital in Egypt has now provided prosthetic limbs for 72 Palestinian amputees since the launch of a humanitarian campaign delivering a lifeline to those caught up in conflict.
The Step of Hope programme was established in June to expand support for civilians who lost limbs during the Gaza war.
During the latest phase, 21 people underwent medical and technical assessments and their prosthetic limbs are now being customised, manufactured and fitted ahead of physiotherapy and mobility rehabilitation.
Teams in Gaza use 3D scanning to “map patients' residual limbs”. This data is shared with the floating hospital in Al Arish, where the prosthetics are made and fitted.
The programme is also set to boost the economy in Gaza, where factories will be built to manufacture prosthetics. Warehouses for storage will be set up and funding for existing workshops will increase.
The floating hospital, where operations started on February 24, 2024, is central to the UAE's relief efforts for Gazans, which started after Israel began its war on the enclave in October 2023.
It is equipped with advanced surgical and intensive care units, a radiology department and laboratories. It has 100 beds for patients and an additional 100 for accompanying relatives.
In November 2025, officials announced medics had conducted more than 5,000 operations at the hospital.
The UAE has also set up a field hospital and two medical centres in Gaza and has brought thousands of patients, including many suffering from cancer and war-related injuries, to the Emirates to receive urgent care.
Last week saw five more UAE aid convoys carrying 663 tonnes of humanitarian supplies arrive in Gaza as part of Operation Gallant Knight 3.
Earlier this month, the operation passed 1,000 days of continuous support, with more than Dh14.2 billion ($3.89 billion) of aid sent during that time.
