More than a year after the brutal war on Gaza and the widespread destruction it caused to infrastructure and health facilities, the United Arab Emirates continues to provide relief and humanitarian support to support the residents of the Strip through its comprehensive humanitarian initiatives. It supports international, Arab and regional demands for an immediate end to the war and the return of the displaced, and works to secure the basic needs of the population, including water, food and treatment.

One of the most prominent Emirati efforts in Gaza is Operation “Birds of Goodness,” which contributed to airdropping food aid to inaccessible areas. The amount of aid dropped from the skies of Gaza to date has reached 3,623 tons. On another level, Operation “Gallant Knight 3” succeeded in delivering 104 relief convoys carrying more than 20,000 tons of urgent humanitarian aid and 4 ships carrying more than 18,000 tons of aid, including medicines, food and tents, in addition to carrying out 259 flights carrying 5,340 tons of aid.

Water supply

In terms of infrastructure, the UAE has made efforts to restore water networks, re-operate wells and tanks, combat water pollution, and provide a healthy environment, as infrastructure suffers from a severe shortage, and the daily share of water per person does not exceed one liter, compared to the global average. It has concluded agreements with the Gaza Municipality and the Khan Yunis Municipality to repair water lines, re-operate damaged wells, and provide clean drinking water for residents and displaced persons, as the UAE pumps more than one million gallons of water daily to the Strip.

In Khan Younis, the UAE’s initiatives included repairing damaged water networks and maintaining wells after 70% of the networks were damaged, contributing to providing water to more than 900,000 people.

The UAE also operates 6 water desalination plants in the Egyptian city of Rafah, with a capacity of 1.2 million gallons per day, benefiting about 600,000 people in Gaza, thus contributing to meeting the basic needs of the population and the displaced.

health care

In response to the significant challenges facing the health sector in Gaza, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, launched an initiative to treat 1,000 children and 1,000 cancer patients from the Strip. Patients are transferred to UAE hospitals and hosted in the “Emirates Humanitarian City” with their companions, to receive medical care that the region lacks due to the lack of medicine and basic medical facilities. In September 2024, 350 children and cancer patients were transferred from Gaza to the Emirates Humanitarian City. The total number of beneficiaries of this initiative reached 1,917 people.

At the healthcare level, and within the framework of Operation “Gallant Knight 3”, the UAE announced in April 2024 the rehabilitation of Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis. This project aims to provide medical services to the residents of southern Gaza, numbering about one and a half million, by restoring the hospital’s efficiency and providing the necessary equipment to provide the necessary medical care.

In order to provide the necessary medical care and support to the sick and wounded Palestinians who were being evacuated to Egypt from the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing, the UAE established a floating hospital in the port of El Arish in cooperation with the Department of Health in Abu Dhabi and the Abu Dhabi Ports Group. The hospital has a capacity of 100 beds and includes operating rooms, intensive care, laboratories, a pharmacy, and a specialized medical staff including surgery, anesthesia, and emergency departments.

In December 2023, the UAE opened a 200-bed field hospital in Rafah, equipped with intensive care operating rooms and specialized clinics including pediatrics, gynecology and surgery. The hospital was a vital addition to providing urgent medical services to the wounded and sick.

The UAE crowned its efforts in supporting the people of Gaza in the medical field and child care, under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, by allocating $5 million to support an international campaign aimed at vaccinating hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza against polio. The first phase of the campaign was successful, with the vaccine reaching more than 560,000 children in the Strip. The UAE participated in this campaign in cooperation with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and UNRWA.

These initiatives come within the framework of the Emirati humanitarian vision to support the residents of the Strip, alleviate their suffering, and support their continued presence in their land until the war ends and life in Gaza returns to normal.