UAE leads intensive diplomatic efforts to lift Gaza blockade

The UAE has been leading intensive diplomatic efforts since the outbreak of the crisis in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, working with regional and international partners to contain the violence and avert further escalation, while consistently stressing the urgent need for the swift, large-scale, and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian, relief, and medical aid to the brotherly Palestinian people.

The UAE's stance towards the situation in Gaza reflects its policy and sincere efforts to pursue a political solution that spares the Palestinian people further tragedies and humanitarian suffering, in line with Arab and international stances.

Efforts to halt the violence and escalation in Gaza have been a key focus of communications and meetings held by President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan with leaders of Arab and foreign countries over the past period, aimed at rallying international efforts to ensure respect for international humanitarian law, provide protection for civilians and spare them worsening suffering resulting from alarming developments on the ground.

Sheikh Mohamed participated virtually in the ‘BRICS Extraordinary Joint Meeting on the Middle East situation in Gaza’ in November 2023, where he reiterated the UAE’s call for the protection of civilians in the Gaza Strip, unimpeded humanitarian access and an immediate ceasefire, and urged the international community to do all in its power to bring an end to the conflict and ease the suffering of those affected.

The UAE’s diplomatic efforts have achieved several successes in securing humanitarian truces and agreements allowing the entry of aid into Gaza.

Following a call on July 21, between Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Gideon Sa’ar, Israeli Foreign Minister, the UAE secured an agreement to deliver urgent food assistance to approximately 15,000 civilians in Gaza as a first phase.

The UAE has a long track record of political and diplomatic support for the Palestinian people since the onset of the Gaza crisis. Key milestones include UN Security Council Resolution 2712 adopted on 15th November 2023, calling for, among other things, "urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days” to enable unhindered humanitarian access.

The UAE, as the Arab member of the Council, worked closely with Malta's Permanent Mission to the UN, which drafted the resolution, providing essential support to secure its adoption.

In a related context, and during its non-permanent membership at the UN Security Council, the UAE submitted UNSC Resolution 2720 (December 2023), which called for tangible steps towards increasing the flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, safeguarding the lives of UN employees and humanitarian workers on the ground in the Strip.

The UAE participated in the Arab ministerial meeting held in Cairo in March 2024, which stressed the priority of achieving a comprehensive and immediate ceasefire, increasing humanitarian access, opening all crossings between Israel and Gaza, and ensuring full support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

In May 2024, the UAE welcomed the decision of the International Court of Justice to impose additional provisional measures on Israel, demanding an immediate halt to military operations in Rafah governorate and the exacerbation of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

On May 29, 2024, the UAE took part in the European Union Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, which called for a ceasefire and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The UAE reaffirmed its commitment to continued humanitarian and relief support for the Palestinian people and prioritised an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza during its participation in the Cairo Ministerial Conference for Emergency Humanitarian Response to Gaza in December 2024, and the extraordinary meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in Saudi Arabia in March 2025.

The UAE reiterated its call for collective global efforts to halt the war in Gaza and advance a sustainable political settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, founded on the two-state solution, while participating in the recent High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and Implementation of the Two-State Solution at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

WAM