UAE SHIP LADEN WITH AID FOR GAZA DOCKS AT EGYPTIAN PORT
▶ More than 4,500 tonnes of supplies to help Palestinians arrives in Al Arish
A second UAE aid ship, carrying 4,544 tonnes of humanitarian supplies for the people of Gaza, arrived at the Egyptian port of Al Arish, from where the cargo will be delivered to the Palestinian enclave.
The ship, which departed from the Port of Fujairah on February 3, carried 4,303 tonnes of food, 154 tonnes of shelter materials and 87 tonnes of medical aid provided by the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, the Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, and the Emirates Red Crescent.
Upon its arrival, Minister of State for Youth Affairs Dr Sultan Al Neyadi landed in Al Arish and inspected the aid, as well as three warehouses where relief sent by the Emirates is stored until it can cross the border at Rafah.
“The United Arab Emirates, from the beginning of this conflict, has sent more than 160 planes carrying humanitarian aid relief and medicine as part of its air bridge programme under the Gallant Knight 3 operations that launched under the directives of His Highness President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed,” Dr Al Neyadi told The National while inspecting the ship at Al Arish port.
“The UAE has spared no efforts, both diplomatically and in its humanitarian efforts throughout this conflict, to show that it does not simply pledge, but makes efforts through action to help our Palestinian brothers and sisters.”
During his tour of the Emirates’ humanitarian efforts in Al Arish, Dr Al Neyadi was joined by other officials, including the UAE’s ambassador to Egypt Mariam Al Kaabi.
About half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population has been forced to seek refuge in Rafah, which the UN has described as a “pressure cooker of despair” after Israel had originally designated it as a safe zone.
At the weekend, Israeli troops carried out arrests at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, Gaza’s largest functioning medical centre, health officials and the military said, leaving the complex completely out of service.
“There are only four medical staffers currently caring for patients” at the hospital, Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Dr Ashraf Al Qudra said yesterday. “The Nasser complex is the backbone of health care in southern Gaza.
“Its ceasing to function is a death sentence for hundreds of thousands.”
World Health Organisation chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said doctors from the organisation were prevented from entering the hospital at the weekend.
“Both yesterday and the day before, the WHO team was not permitted to enter the hospital to assess the conditions of the patients and critical medical needs, despite reaching the hospital compound to deliver fuel alongside partners,” he said in a post on social media yesterday.
The war began on October 7, when Hamas, the militant group that governs Gaza, launched attacks on southern Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages.
Since then, Israel’s air and ground campaign has killed more than 28,900 people and injured more than 68,800, Gaza’s Health Ministry says.
Tension rose at the Rafah border crossing at the weekend when a fire broke out on the Palestinian side amid increased security preparations on the Egyptian side.
Cairo has increased its “security preparedness” along the border with Gaza and is closely following the situation in Rafah.
Egypt is “ready to deal with any potential scenarios” that may break out at the border, a military source in Al Arish told The National.
More checkpoints were set up around Al Arish over the past several days, and lorries carrying cement and concrete blocks could be seen making their way to the Rafah crossing.
A group of displaced Palestinians set fire to tyres in front of the main gate of the crossing, then opened the gate and attacked lorries carrying aid, a spokesman for Egypt’s border authority was quoted as
Minister of State for Youth Affairs Dr Sultan Al Neyadi inspected the aid, joined by UAE envoy to Egypt Mariam Al Kaabi
saying by Egyptian media. Rashid Al Mansoori, acting secretary general of the Emirates Red Crescent, told The National that in the coming days, a ship that has been converted into a field hospital will arrive at Al Arish, and preparations are in place to fly in doctors and crew for the ship once it is operational.
The 100-bed floating hospital set sail from the UAE on February 8, and is expected to arrive this week. It will provide crucial medical support to Palestinians requiring urgent treatment, Mr Al Mansoori added. The repurposed vessel – which will have 100 medical and administrative staff on board – will be docked off Al Arish to support relief efforts for Gaza.
The hospital has operating rooms, an intensive care department, a laboratory, a pharmacy and medical warehouses.
The ship, which sailed from Khalifa Port, also has an evacuation plane and boat, as well as fully equipped ambulances.