Over 2.2 million people live in the Gaza Strip in Palestine, making it the most densely populated city in the world, and named by the UN in 2012 as “unlivable” by 2020. 

Since the Hamas surprise attack on October 7, Israel has cut off food, water, electricity, and fuel to the Gaza Strip. More than 2,600 Palestinians and counting have died in the attacks, with nearly 10,000 wounded. The UN has warned that the absence of clean running water was fast becoming a “matter of life or death.”

More than 423,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in the Gaza Strip, UN humanitarian agency OCHA said.

To alleviate the suffering of Gazans, especially children, who make up nearly half of the population of the Gaza Strip, the UAE has stepped in with an initiative called Compassion for Gaza to open centers to collect humanitarian relief packages by working with charitable organizations, volunteer centers, and the private sector.

The Emirates Red Crescent Authority launched the campaign on Sunday at the Abu Dhabi Ports Hall in Mina Zayed. More than 1,000 people of various nationalities packed vital supplies into boxes such as dry food, blankets, baby diapers and medical supplies for Palestinian families displaced by the war at Abu Dhabi Ports Hall in Mina Zayed.

The relief initiative, conducted in cooperation with the World Food Program and in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Community Development, will also be organized in other emirates. 

Similarly, Dubai’s International Humanitarian City (IHC) launched a humanitarian airbridge operation to transport essential medical supplies and food assistance to Egypt and Lebanon.

The operation comes with an immediate request for aid by the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF.)  

The shipment departed from Dubai today to El Arish in the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt, carrying more than 11 metric tonnes of essential supplies from the WFP and UNICEF stockpile, including water, sanitation, hygiene, dignity kits, crucial aid materials, and essential food provisions. 

Giuseppe Saba, CEO of Dubai’s International Humanitarian City, says, “The humanitarian air bridge has been swiftly established to transport urgently needed relief supplies to populations affected by the escalating crisis in the region.”

This will aid healthcare response via the Egyptian Red Crescent, ensuring the communities are prepared to meet the urgent requirements.