DUBAI (The Thursday Times) — Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE’s Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has ordered tents sent to Gaza to shelter 50,000 people through the winter, the Dubai Media Office said on Tuesday.
The shipment will be sent by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation and handed out across the Gaza Strip through Operation Gallant Knight 3, the UAE’s aid mission to the enclave.
It comes as winter weather reaches the camps where most of Gaza’s displaced families now live. Heavy rain at the weekend tore and flooded tents in Gaza City, leaving children and parents digging out sand and patching canvas by hand.
‘Heartbreaking’, says Gargash
Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, called the situation in Gaza heartbreaking and said it was a “reminder of the scale of the ongoing humanitarian suffering and the need to step up relief efforts”.
“The UAE will remain steadfast in its humanitarian giving, true to its commitment to the brotherly Palestinian people,” he wrote on X, referring to the Dubai ruler’s order.
Three years of Operation Gallant Knight 3
The UAE marked three years of Operation Gallant Knight 3 last week. Launched on November 5, 2023, on the orders of Sheikh Mohamed, it is the country’s largest humanitarian mission to Gaza and has delivered more than 136,000 tonnes of aid worth $4.16 billion.
What began as emergency relief now covers food, medical care, shelter and psychological support. The UAE says its aid makes up about 46 per cent of all international humanitarian assistance that has reached the enclave.
