UAE’s consignment of 400,000 winter jackets on way to keep Gazans warm
The UAE is to send more than 400,000 winter jackets to Palestinians in Gaza who have been left without shelter as temperatures plunge.
Another shipment of blankets, heaters and winter gloves is also to be sent.
The Emirates Red Crescent, the UAE affiliate of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said it had completed final preparations to send aid convoys to the Gaza Strip as part of its Be Their Warmth campaign.
The organisation said the winter jackets, which were made in Egypt, are to be delivered to Al Arish logistics centre in Egypt, near the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, for security checks before entering the enclave.
The UAE has so far sent more than 1.6 million pieces of clothing and blankets to Gaza as part of its Gallant Knight 3 humanitarian initiative.
Last week, it announced that it has doubled the capacity of its desalination plants on the Egyptian side of the border with Gaza.
These can now supply 4.5 million litres of drinking water a day to Gazans, gathering seawater from the Mediterranean through a system of pipes.
This is then filtered to remove salt and other impurities and sent underground across the border.
The UAE has so far supplied almost 10,000 tonnes of aid delivered by 121 lorries and 129 cargo planes.
It also opened a warehouse in Al Arish, where it is stockpiling aid including nappies, blankets, canned food and electric heaters.
The UAE’s Gallant Knight 3 humanitarian initiative has already delivered more than 1.6 million items of clothing