UAE President orders urgent medical evacuation for patients, their families from Gaza

In cooperation with the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Arab Emirates has conducted a new medical evacuation flight, which included 155 patients and injured individuals, along with their family members from the Gaza Strip. The flight departed from Ramon Airport in Israel via Karam Abu Salem crossing. To date, the UAE has evacuated 2,785 patients and their families to provide access to medical treatment since the onset of the crisis.

The latest medical evacuation flight is under the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to provide medical treatment for 1,000 Palestinian children and 1,000 cancer patients throughout the nation’s hospitals. These efforts demonstrate the UAE’s leading and continuous commitment to alleviating the suffering of civilians in Gaza and mitigating the devastating impacts of this catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

An injured Gaza child is stretched into the UAE aircraft.

In this regard, Sultan Mohammed Al Shamsi, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Development and International Organisations and Vice Chairman of the UAE Aid Agency, emphasised the UAE’s dedication to providing a rapid humanitarian response, including the urgent transport of patients and injured civilians from the Gaza Strip. These efforts demonstrate the UAE’s unwavering and deep-rooted support for the Palestinians without exemption, reflecting the nation’s humanitarian commitment to delivering immediate aid, supporting stability, and alleviating suffering caused by war and conflicts.

Al Shamsi underscored that the Emirati medical teams have transported critically wounded and injured patients to hospitals across Abu Dhabi, while other patients and their family members are accommodated at the Emirates Humanitarian City, where they will receive the necessary medical care, under the supervision of specialised medical teams.

Gazans board a UAE aircraft for urgent evacuation.

Furthermore, Al Shamsi highlighted that the UAE provides various medical, educational, and cultural support to patients, injured, and their family members, which contribute in alleviating the dire consequences of the ongoing humanitarian crisis affecting patients, children, women, and the elderly in Gaza.

Since the onset of the crisis, the UAE has continued its leading humanitarian initiatives and extensive efforts in cooperation with UN organisations and international partners to mitigate the catastrophic impacts of the ongoing crisis and alleviate the humanitarian suffering faced by the residents of the Strip. These include medical services, provision of medication, and essential medical equipment on the UAE hospital ship anchored in Egypt’s Al-Arish Port, as well as the operations of the Emirati field hospital in southern Gaza.

The continuous medical evacuation flights are part of a comprehensive and urgent humanitarian response plan to mitigate the crisis and provide relief to those most in need.

WAM