Dina Mahmoud (Abu Dhabi)
The UAE continues to provide urgent humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, in accordance with the directives of the wise leadership, within the framework of the state’s historical commitment to the Palestinian brothers.
The state affirmed its firm commitment to providing humanitarian relief to its brothers, and implementing relief initiatives, by land, sea and air, according to what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a post on the “X” platform.
The volume of humanitarian and relief support that the United Arab Emirates continues to provide to more than two million people representing the population of Gaza whose lives have been destroyed in the Strip has exceeded 2.6 billion dirhams (nearly 700 million US dollars), within the framework of what has been described as one of the largest humanitarian missions ever undertaken by the country.
As part of these intensive efforts, the UAE established a bridge for supplies that touch the lives of the residents of the Strip, and worked to deliver them to the Strip in various ways by sea and land, as well as through 300 flights, which led, after ten months of the outbreak of the war in October of last year, to the provision of approximately 40 thousand tons of humanitarian aid; with the aim of meeting the urgent needs of the residents of Gaza.
These operations included airdropping humanitarian aid to areas that are difficult to reach by land due to the intensity of the fighting and other logistical difficulties. This costs, according to Sultan Mohammed Al Shamsi, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Development and International Organizations, in statements to the American Bloomberg News Agency, hundreds of thousands of dollars to deliver one ton of supplies to the people of Gaza.
According to Al-Shamsi’s statements, through airdrops, humanitarian supplies can be transported to the northern areas of the Gaza Strip, which are the most affected by Israeli air and ground operations.
Emirati aircraft are transporting tons of food aid and medical supplies from the airport in the Egyptian city of El Arish, located about 50 kilometers from Gaza, to those affected by the war there. Off the coast of the same Egyptian city, the UAE has set up a fully-fledged floating hospital on board a ship, to enhance efforts to provide the necessary medical support to our Palestinian brothers.
Officials at the 100-bed hospital say it has performed hundreds of delicate and complex surgeries on Palestinian casualties since its inauguration. This comes in addition to the medical services provided by the UAE-built field hospital in the Palestinian city of Rafah in southern Gaza, which has so far treated nearly 50,000 patients and wounded.
Bloomberg highlighted the participation of many Emirati volunteers in the humanitarian efforts undertaken by the UAE to provide relief to the people of Gaza and alleviate their suffering, whether from within the Strip or from the Egyptian areas adjacent to the border. The UAE’s efforts also include the establishment of six desalination plants in Al-Arish, which supply Gaza residents with more than one million gallons of drinking water daily, and the establishment of a number of warehouses containing food, medicine and clothing on the Egyptian side of the border; with the aim of providing these supplies to the residents of the Strip affected by the battles.
In statements published by the agency on its website, Her Excellency Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, stressed the need for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages and detainees, considering this an urgent necessity to reduce escalation in the entire region.
On the 25th of last month, Her Excellency stressed the UAE’s vision that consolidating security and stability and ending the current human suffering “should begin with the establishment of a temporary international mission at the official invitation of the Palestinian government – led by a new, highly competent, credible and independent prime minister,” stressing the need for this mission to be “ready to deal with the necessary reforms to address the challenges facing the Palestinian people, and to achieve their legitimate aspirations for independence, state-building, development and stability, and capable of shouldering the responsibility of rebuilding Gaza.”
She pointed out that “the mission should be entrusted with the task of achieving an effective response to the crisis suffered by the residents of the Strip, in addition to working to establish law and order, and laying the foundations for a qualified government that paves the way for the unification of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under one legitimate Palestinian authority.”
In this context, Her Excellency also stressed the need for “Israel, as the occupying power, to play its role in achieving this international vision in accordance with international law and human rights standards,” given that “Gaza cannot be rebuilt if it continues to live under siege, if the Palestinian Authority is not allowed to assume its responsibilities there, and if it stops withholding its funding, in addition to the need to stop the construction of settlements and violence in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.”
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