Today's Edition
Reem Al Kindi
Amid a very dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinian famlies are desperate for food, water, and medical supplies, the UAE has been the first among countries to provide humanitarian aid and take diplomatic steps to ensure the delivery of aid to Gaza.
The UAE - leadership, government, and people - is making wider efforts, led by President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to stop the war in Gaza. Since October 7, hardly a day has passed without our wise leadership, ministers, or officials holding talks with their counterparts worldwide to discuss efforts to calm down the situation, save civilian lives, ensure uninterrupted delivery of medical and relief supplies to Gaza, accelerate the supplies to meet the scale of needs on the ground, and stop the worsening human suffering in the Gaza Strip.
In addition to diplomatic moves, the UAE has launched several humanitarian initiatives to provide urgent humanitarian aid to alleviate the impact of the war. It has launched the “Tarahum - for Gaza” campaign, which engaged the public in providing humanitarian relief packages to Palestinians affected by the war in the Gaza Strip, in addition to hosting 1,000 Palestinian children for medical treatment, along with their families, in the UAE.
It has also launched the humanitarian “Gallant Knight 3” operation, which includes an air bridge to provide urgent humanitarian assistance, the establishment of a 150-bed hospital in Gaza to improve health conditions, and a water desalination plant in Rafah to supply drinking water to residents of the Gaza Strip. This reflects an unwavering course of support for the Palestinian people during crises and hard times.
The UAE’s efforts are not limited only to humanitarian assistance. His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, has held several discussions with foreign ministers and senior officials from various countries, including the USA, France, the UN Secretary-General, and others. The aim is to support plans to increase the flow of aid to Gaza within the framework of the UAE’s commitment to help the Palestinian people and provide humanitarian and relief assis- tance to them.
Her Excellency Ambassador Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, the UAE’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, led a visit for members of the Security Council to the Rafah Border Crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. The visit aimed to directly assess the urgent need to deliver humanitarian aid, as thousands of aid-laden trucks were unable to enter Gaza to assist those in need. This visit played a vital role in communicating the severity of the suffering and persuading the world’s nations to support the UAE’s humanitarian efforts in this regard.
As the representative of the Arab states in the UN Security Council, the UAE presented several draft resolutions to the Council, urging a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and allowing immediate entry of aid by land, sea, and air. Through complex and lengthy diplomatic and negotiation efforts, the UAE succeeded in securing the adoption of Security Council Resolution 2720. This resolution aims to increase the flow of humanitarian aid needed by Palestinians in Gaza and appoint a Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator to facilitate and expedite aid delivery to Gaza.
This effort has already seen progress with the appointment of Ms. Sigrid Kaag as Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, a move welcomed by the UAE. Ambassador Nusseibeh stated: “We trust that Ms. Kaag’s expertise and insight will help ensure the urgent and complete implementation of the resolution.” The UAE is leveraging its diplomatic strength, communication channels, and effective engagement with international and regional powers to alleviate the suffering of innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip as soon as possible.
While the UAE’s diplomatic efforts have achieved positive results in building international consensus to support aid plans for Gaza, the UAE continues to demonstrate that its support for the Palestinians is ongoing, reaffirming its belief in assisting and supporting those in need on a humanitarian level as a cornerstone of its work and role.
The writer is a researcher at TRENDS Research & Advisory.
