UAE allocates $5M to support UN’s humanitarian efforts in Gaza

By Murat Basoglu and Abdul Jabbar Aburas

The UAE on Saturday announced the allocation of $5 million to support the UN’s humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip, which has seen widespread devastation as a result of Israeli attacks.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said that under the directives of UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed announced the allocation of $5 million to support efforts of Sigrid Kaag, UN senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza.

On Friday, the UAE foreign minister met with Kaag.

The two parties reviewed “the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza as a result of the war, and ways to address its repercussions at an accelerated and coordinated pace, aiming to alleviate civilian suffering and meet their needs,” according to the official WAM news agency.

Despite a provisional ruling by the International Court of Justice last month, Israel continues its onslaught on the Gaza Strip, where at least 27,238 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and 66,452 others injured since Oct. 7, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

•Writing by Ikram Kouachi