UAE sends three tonnes of medical aid and medicine to Gaza

Shipment goes out after Israeli strikes on Al Mawasi that killed more than 90 people on Saturday

Humanitarian aid to Gaza leaving from Fujairah on a ship called Peaceland. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The UAE has sent three tonnes of medical aid and medicine to the Gaza Strip, "following the events and developments in Khan Younis", after Israeli strikes killed more than 90 people there on Saturday.

"The medical aid includes a number of essential medical supplies for hospitals in light of the state of deficit they are suffering from, medicine for various cases of injuries, a quantity of insulin for diabetics, and various types of solutions, to support the health sector in this critical situation," state news agency Wam reported.

The UAE has also provided 10 ambulances, bringing the total amount sent so far to 337 tonnes to improve hospitals' capacity to offer assistance.

The UAE has recently announced its support to the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA at a pledging conference for the agency in New York.

UAE ambassador to the UN Mohammed Abushahab said the UAE rejects any attempts to undermine its role in Gaza, as it “provides a glimmer of hope to Palestinian refugees in these difficult circumstances”.

“My country stands in solidarity with the UNRWA’s efforts to continue its vital role despite the serious challenges” it faces.

Under operation Gallant Knight 3, the UAE also established two hospitals to help those in need, including a field hospital in the southern Gaza Strip and the floating hospital.

The field hospital has treated more than 21,000 patients, and its floating hospital in Egypt's Al Arish has treated 700 people more so far.

The figures, released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, show the aid was delivered by 320 flights, seven ships and 1,243 lorries up until June 13.

The UAE has also set up five automatic bakeries and six desalination plants that produce 1.2 million gallons of clean water a day for 600,000 people in the Gaza Strip daily.

At least 3,380 tonnes of relief supplies were also sent to isolated parts of Gaza by aid drops.

The UAE's aid is part of international attempts to relieve the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza after more than nine months of war.

This week, United Nations rights experts accused Israel of carrying out a “targeted starvation campaign” that has left “no doubt that famine has spread” across the entire Gaza strip.

“Israel's intentional and targeted starvation campaign against the Palestinian people is a form of genocidal violence and has resulted in famine across all of Gaza,” 10 independent UN experts said in a statement on Tuesday.

The UN has not officially declared a famine in the Gaza Strip but the experts, including the UN special rapporteur on the right to food Michael Fakhri, insisted there was no denying famine was under way.

Israel now controls all the entry and exit points into the Gaza Strip since seizing the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt in May.

Many of Gaza's 2.3 million people relied on aid even before the outbreak of the war following Hamas's attack on Israel in October.