Fifteen people from the Gaza Strip landed in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night, marking the first flight of an initiative aimed at transporting 1,000 Palestinian children and their families to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
"The first plane carrying 15 people, including children and their families, arrived in the UAE as part of the initiative directed by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, to provide medical treatment for 1,000 children accompanied by their families from the Gaza Strip in the UAE’s hospitals," the Emirati Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Departing from El Arish International Airport in the Arab Republic of Egypt, the plane landed at Abu Dhabi International Airport carrying children in urgent need of medical assistance, including those suffering from severe injuries and burns, as well as cancer patients requiring extensive treatment, the ministry added.
Assistant Foreign Minister for Health Maha Barakat emphasized that, "All medical and healthcare staff and the UAE’s hospitals are prepared to receive the remaining children and their families, to provide them with comprehensive care as well as specialized services in accordance with international standards and to ensure they are fully recovered prior to their safe return." Barakat did not specify the date for the arrival of the other groups expected to be airlifted as part of the initiative.
"Since the outbreak of the crisis, the UAE immediately provided urgent humanitarian aid and supplies to the Gaza Strip," she noted, adding that Sheikh Mohammed "issued a directive" to allocate a humanitarian aid package of $20 million.
Sheikh Mohammed also ordered the establishment of an integrated field hospital inside the Gaza Strip, Barakat added.
Barakat said the UAE had so far dispatched 51 planes carrying 1,400 tons of food, medical and relief supplies to "support endeavors aiming at providing relief in the Gaza Strip, in coordination with international organizations such as the U.N. World Food Programme."
Israel has killed more than 12,300 Palestinians in its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since the surprise offensive by Hamas. The official Israeli death toll, meanwhile, stands at about 1,200.
Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques and churches, have either been damaged or destroyed in Israel’s relentless strikes on the besieged enclave.
An Israeli blockade has also cut Gaza off from fuel, electricity, and water supplies and reduced aid deliveries to a trickle.
Israel has rejected growing calls for a cease-fire until the release of hostages held by Hamas.