The UAE, in partnership with the World Health Organization, on Wednesday carried out an emergency humanitarian initiative as part of its ongoing efforts to evacuate 97 critically injured and sick people from the Gaza Strip to Abu Dhabi to receive advanced medical care, including cancer patients in need of intensive treatment, accompanied by 155 of their family members, with 142 children among the patients and their companions.

“The evacuation, the second from Ramon Airport, comes within the framework of the UAE’s efforts to provide advanced healthcare to injured Palestinians,” said Her Excellency Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation.

Her Excellency added, "This new mission to evacuate wounded and sick Palestinians confirms the UAE's firm commitment to supporting the Palestinian people during the catastrophic conditions facing the Strip. We will continue to work diligently with international partners and the United Nations, and play a leading role to double and support efforts to alleviate this humanitarian disaster."

For his part, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said: “We once again express our appreciation to the UAE for its support in evacuating patients and injured people from the Gaza Strip to receive the urgent care they need. We hope that this initiative and others like it will enhance the available capabilities, which could lead to more evacuations of a greater number of individuals. The World Health Organization also calls again for a ceasefire.”

Since the beginning of the crisis, the UAE has made strenuous efforts to enhance the relief response towards the injured and sick Palestinian brothers and support them in the critical circumstances they are going through. It has evacuated 1,665 patients and their companions in previous initiatives, bringing the number of patients and their companions to 1,917 patients and their companions with today’s plane. The UAE has provided more than 40,000 tons of urgent aid, including food, medical and relief supplies, via 10 ships, 1,300 trucks, 316 aircraft and 104 airdrops as part of Operation “Birds of Goodness,” through which more than 3,450 tons were dropped from the air over northern Gaza.