The United Arab Emirates has sent urgent aid to the Gaza Strip to ease the impact of the blockade imposed by Israel on the Palestinians and the intensity of the war that began on October 7.
Since the beginning of the war, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, has ordered urgent aid to the Palestinians worth more than 154 million dirhams, as well as the launch of the “Compassion for Gaza” initiative, which collected 800 tons of relief aid in less than two weeks from its launch, with the participation of more than 10,100 volunteers.
The UAE’s support comes through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees “UNRWA”, in addition to planes carrying relief materials that arrived during the past days at Al-Arish airport, northeast of Egypt.
The political leadership of the state affirms that this comes within the framework of its firm position and approach towards supporting Arabs in various circumstances and extending a helping hand to them, which is one of the constants of the UAE.
On Monday, UAE’s representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, said that a ceasefire must be put in place now in Gaza, and safe and sustainable humanitarian aid must be provided to the strip, in addition to electricity and clean water.
“We have heard that the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza are not from Hamas and that this is not a war against them, and while these words are welcome, it is time for them to be reflected in actions,” the UAE representative stressed.
Nusseibeh went on to say that the number of Palestinian children killed in just two weeks of Israeli shelling in Gaza exceeds the total number of children killed around the world in the past four years, stressing that “it should be something that awakens our moral conscience.
Children deserve protection today… The members of this council have repeatedly expressed their concern about the undermining of the international order.”
The UAE delegate further underlined that the evacuation order sent out by the Israeli forces in these circumstances is cruel and reckless, noting that the entire civilian population of Gaza is at risk due to the Israeli escalations, as well as the holding of hostages by the “Hamas” movement.
“We need to cancel the dangerous unrealistic evacuation orders… The West Bank has also not been spared from violence,” Nusseibeh said, noting that Israeli settlers have encouraged violence against Palestinians and are forcing them to flee, which must be prevented.
“There have been more than 76 attacks on health care facilities, including 20 hospitals. This is in addition to destroyed health clinics. These sites enjoy the protection of international humanitarian law and issuing warnings to these facilities to evacuate does not change their protected status,” she added.
Nusseibeh warned against the expansion of the circle of escalation and confirmed that ignoring what is happening day after day will have devastating consequences not only for Israel and Palestine but for the prospects for peace and stability in the region.
The UAE has spared no effort in supporting the Palestinian cause for decades. Most recently, the UAE provided $15 million on July 6 to rehabilitate the areas affected by the Israeli aggressions in Jenin, northern Palestine, through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), a month after providing $20 million to support the same agency in early June.
In mid-June, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan directed the provision of 7.3 million dirhams in support of the municipality of the Palestinian city of Hebron, after he directed on March 16 to provide $3 million to support the reconstruction of the Palestinian town of Hawwara, about 3 months after the delivery of the largest medical aid convoy to the Gaza Strip, including medicines and necessary medical supplies, worth $10 million.
The UAE also signed a cooperation agreement with the World Health Organization to support Makassed Hospital, which is the largest charitable educational hospital in East Jerusalem, with $25 million, and sending several shipments of the Russian vaccine “Sputnik – v” against the emerging coronavirus “covid-19” in 2021. Three medical aid planes were sent at the time, carrying 36.6 tons, 10,000 Corona screening devices, and 10 respirators, to benefit 36.6,000 medical personnel.
In early 2021, the state sent urgent relief aid to support 10,000 families in the Gaza Strip, where it provided 808 tons of relief aid.
From 2010 to 2021, the UAE’s total aid to Palestine amounted to $1.14 billion, including $254 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).