The fourth group of Gazans being aided by medical treatment by the United Arab Emirates arrived in the country on Saturday, according to a report in the UAE’s The National.
“The group of 77 patients – accompanied by 43 family members – were evacuated from Gaza and transported to the Emirates from El Arish International Airport in Egypt,” the report read. It noted that this is one of several of the UAE’s ongoing initiatives to help Gazans in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the current war.
The report noted that “donation drives and aid collection campaigns have also been held across the Emirates. President Mohamed [bin Zayed Al Nahyan], and US Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday spoke about the importance of protecting civilians in Gaza, by working towards a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.”
In addition, the UAE’s field hospital in Gaza has opened. “Medical teams from the UAE will provide aid and treatment to injured Palestinian residents in Gaza,” The National reported. Accordingly, The hospital has 150 beds, and can “be used for general surgery, orthopedics, anesthesia, and intensive care for children and adults. It also offers clinics in internal medicine, dentistry, psychiatric treatment, and family medicine.”
The Israeli military’s campaign has restarted and is focused on southern Gaza, where Hamas leaders are believed to be hiding, carrying out intense airstrikes over the weekend. Arab News reported that one of these airstrikes targeted a housing complex that had been funded by Qatar.
Israel surrounded Gaza City earlier last month. Gaza has been divided in half by Israeli troops, who executed a maneuver during the ground operation that placed an Israeli armored division between Gaza City and southern Gaza.
Israel has asked Gazans to move south toward safety, and a new map was drawn, providing more details on safe zones. More than a million Gazans are estimated to have already moved south.
'Flexible plan'
A separate report at Arab News described the conditions that medics, who have been sent by the UAE for the flights that are helping some Gazans, are facing.
“UAE doctors and nurses have no knowledge of the cases they will receive beforehand, prompting them to follow a flexible plan throughout the mission. They must be prepared with all types of equipment and a range of specializations,” the report noted.
“To increase their future preparedness, the medical staff constantly learns from the challenges of each mission and aims to improve for the next. During the first evacuation mission, for example, the team faced difficulties moving a patient with a spinal cord injury into the plane, due to a lack of equipment to prevent his neck from moving. Another mission received a far higher number of patients than expected.”
This illustrates the key and important role the UAE is playing, along with other Gulf countries, in offering support to those in need in Gaza, or those who can be evacuated for medical reasons. The UAE is playing a practical, helpful role. Other countries, such as Iran and Turkey have instead focused on fanning the flames of tensions.