As part of its unwavering humanitarian commitment to Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, the UAE, in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO), has announced an emergency initiative to evacuate 85 critically ill and injured people.
The patients had cancer, injuries, blood diseases, congenital conditions, neurological conditions, cardiac and liver and renal disease, as per Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization.
Sixty-three family members and care givers accompanied the patients.
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The evacuees travelled to Abu Dhabi from Ramon Airport in Israel via the Kerem Shalom crossing to receive medical care in UAE hospitals.
The initiative reflects the importance of urgent humanitarian intervention to save lives, and embodies the UAE’s strong commitment to supporting the Palestinian people in Gaza during the catastrophic conditions surrounding the Strip.
Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, said: “At this critical time, we cannot overstate the importance of this mission to evacuate wounded and sick Palestinians to Abu Dhabi. This unprecedented route reflects the gravity of the humanitarian situation and our commitment to alleviating the suffering of the people of the Gaza Strip and ensuring the delivery and distribution of relief aid through all available means, whether by land, sea or air.”
“This initiative also underscores the UAE’s enduring and historic support for the Palestinian people, based on our strong belief in the importance of providing immediate relief and promoting peace to address the immense suffering,” she added.
She highlighted the UAE’s reception of 709 patients from the Gaza Strip, in addition to 787 of their family members, to receive medical care in the country’s hospitals, as directed by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, “may God protect him”, to treat 2,000 injured and cancer patients from the Strip.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said: “We thank the UAE for its support for the mission to evacuate sick and wounded people from the Gaza Strip to receive the urgent care they need. We hope that this initiative will pave the way for the establishment of evacuation corridors through all available routes, including the Kerem Shalom crossing to Jordan and the Rafah crossing to Egypt, and from there to other countries.”
“We also call for the resumption of evacuations to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, where thousands of patients are suffering. Most importantly, and as always, the World Health Organization calls for a ceasefire.” he added.
The UAE has previously provided the Gaza Strip with more than 40,000 tons of urgent aid, including food, relief and medical supplies via 8 ships, 337 flights, 50 airdrops and 1,271 trucks. A few days ago, the fourth Emirati aid ship arrived at the port of Al Arish, carrying the eighth shipment of aid, with 5,340 tons of humanitarian supplies on board, the largest in weight since the start of the relief response operations in the Strip.