ABU DHABI // A royal cargo plane carrying desperately needed supplies for displaced Palestinians has been deployed to Gaza.
The relief effort was ordered by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, in response to the growing number of displaced families arriving at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza.
The UNRWA said the number of Palestinians seeking its help could soon be as high as 100,000.
In response to the increased demand, aid agencies had mobilised relief supplies from the International Humanitarian City (IHC), in Dubai.
These supplies had been donated to UNRWA to help the displaced in Gaza, said UNRWA.
In less than 24 hours, the IHC coordinated the participation of member organisations including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN WFP, the UN Humanitarian Response Depot, the UN Children’s Fund, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies (IFRC) and Emirates Red Crescent. The members planned a joint logistics effort to ensure maximum efficiency in delivering aid.
Relief items included jerry cans, sleeping mats, blankets, tarpaulins, hygiene kits and kitchen sets. They were dispatched from IHC warehouses and the items were transferred to the royal aircraft in the Dubai Air Wing.
Under Sheikh Mohammed’s orders, a special airlift in support of the displaced families in Gaza began on Sunday from Dubai, where the 747 cargo plane took off carrying 115 tonnes of aid, 45,000 mattresses, 10,000 blankets and 220 hygiene kits. The plane landed at Marka International Airport in Amman, Jordan, early on Monday.
“We are very grateful for the immediate reaction and most generous response we received from Dubai and all the IHC members to our call for help,” said UNRWA commissioner general Pierre Krahenbuhl.
More airlifts are scheduled to arrive in Amman, from where UNRWA will drive the aid into Gaza.
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