UAE-built desalination plants deliver 130 million gallons of clean water to Gaza Strip

Network established in December is serving hundreds of thousands of Palestinians affected by the war with Israel

The UAE's Operation Gallant Knight 3 has been providing the people of Gaza with drinking water from desalination plants in Rafah, Egypt, since December last year. Photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National

Engineer Khalid Al Naqbi is part of the UAE team responsible for addressing water scarcity in Gaza. More than 130 million gallons of drinking water have been delivered by a network of desalination plants built by the UAE in December

About half a dozen plants on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border produce about 1.6 million gallons of water daily

President Sheikh Mohamed ordered that work on Operation Gallant Knight 3 begin last year to include essential services to the Palestinian people, including water utilities, medical support and an air and sea supply chain

The UAE's logistics base at Al Arish in Egypt

Rashid Al Mansouri, secretary general of Emirates Red Crescent, at a relief materials warehouse in Al Arish

Warehouses at Al Arish are at the heart of the UAE's relief efforts for Gaza

A relief materials warehouse in Al Arish

The UAE's relief efforts to help the people of Gaza are labour intensive and demand co-ordination from administrators and staff

Medical supplies at Al Arish

Medical supplies from the UAE at Al Arish. The amount of essentials to assist the people of Gaza in their time of need reflects the extent of the disaster that has befallen them

The UAE's logistics base at Al Arish in Egypt

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More than 130 million gallons of clean drinking water have been delivered to the Gaza Strip by a network of desalination plants established by the UAE in December.

The six plants, on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border, produce about 1.6 million gallons of water daily and have the capacity to serve up to 600,000 Palestinians.

The desalination network – opened under the UAE's continued relief operation – is providing a crucial lifeline to embattled civilians bearing the brunt of the conflict.

The National paid a visit to the site, which lies only 500 metres from Gaza, where Emiratis are working round the clock to pump water into the enclave.

Engineer Khalid Al Naqbi is part of the team seeking to alleviate water scarcity.

“UAE has established the plant with a productivity of around 1.6 million gallons per day for our people in Gaza,” Mr Al Naqbi said.

“About 3,200 metres of water pipeline stretches across the border to the internal water network in Rafah.

"We also established four filling points for water tankers as immediate aid to Gaza.”

Water crisis worsened by war

A dire shortage of treated water poses a serious health risk to Palestinians already counting the cost of a deteriorating humanitarian crisis.

Water supplies, as well as food and electricity, have been largely cut off by Israel, while a significant number of water and sanitation facilities have been destroyed during heavy bombardment.

The plants gather water from the Mediterranean Sea through a system of pipes. The water is then filtered and sent underground across the border to the Palestinian enclave.

“We are monitoring the water with the highest standards to make sure it is of the quality to be used for drinking and other uses,” Mr Al Naqbi said.

“The water reaches over 600,000 people per day.

"Knowing this water reaches our brothers in Gaza make us proud. These are pipes of hope.”

Gaza produced only 5 per cent of its usual water supply in March as a result of the damage to infrastructure, said a UN Environment Programme report released last month.

In April, it was estimated there was only enough water for each of Gaza's 2.3 million residents to receive between two to eight litres a day.

That marked a significant drop from the daily supply of 85 litres per person before October, the report added.

The UN lists 15 litres a day as the bare minimum requirement.

Key support in store

The Emirates has also set up 12 warehouses at a logistics base in the Egyptian city of Al Arish, where it is stockpiling tonnes of essential aid, including nappies, blankets, canned food, flour, rice and medicine.

The depots are packed with vital goods as a direct result of the goodwill and generosity of the UAE public since the outbreak of the war.

Thousands of volunteers gathered across the UAE in October to pack aid boxes for Palestinian people under the Compassion for Gaza campaign.

The UAE had provided 33,100 tonnes of urgent supplies to Gaza as of June 13.

Figures released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs showed that aid was delivered by 320 flights, seven ships and 1,243 lorries.

Matar Al Khezaimi, head of medical supplies in Al Arish, told of the scale of the UAE's humanitarian effort.

He said the dedicated medical warehouses have enough supplies to stock the UAE's field hospital in Gaza for two months.

“We have two different medical stores in Al Arish, one for preparation of the medical supplies to our hospital inside Gaza and the floating hospital in Al Arish upon their request," said Mr Al Khezaimi.

"The second is to store medical disposals, IV fluid, medication such antibiotics and painkillers, medical solutions and medical equipment.

“We store the medicine in cold areas inside the store.”

He said, despite long-standing challenges in delivering aid to Gaza, the team remain able to deliver supplies to the hospital.