UAE's largest aid ship sets sail for Gaza with field hospital on board
The vessel, called Khalifa, is heading to Al Arish Port in Egypt and is loaded with 4,372 tonnes of food, 1,433 tonnes of shelter materials, 860 tonnes of medical supplies and 501 tonnes of health supplies, state news agency Wam reported.
It is the largest aid vessel ever dispatched by the Emirates, and comes as part of Operation Gallant Knight 3. It brings the total volume of aid sent by the UAE to Gaza to 77,266 tonnes.
The ship is also carrying a fully equipped field hospital that can accommodate 400 patients and 16 ambulances, Hmoud Al Efari, the UAE Aid mission's co-ordinator, told The National.
'The ship will arrive in the Egyptian city of Al Arish in the next weeks. It has a field hospital as a gift from the UAE to the medical sector in Gaza,' he said.
The vessel is carrying 20 tankers to ensure clean drinking water access for Gazans.
'The cargo will be stored in the UAE's warehouses in Al Arish and later loaded to lorries to cross the border to the strip,' Mr Al Efari added.
An uncertain future
The aid shipment comes with ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas at a crossroads.
Hamas is considering giving mediators until the end of the week to reach a deal or it will withdraw from the current talks in Doha, The National reported on Sunday.
The latest round of talks mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt began on July 6. Significant progress has since been made on some issues but Israel and Hamas remain at odds over several key questions.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
an hour ago
- Khaleej Times
Syria says meeting with Israeli officials sought to 'contain escalation'
A Syrian diplomatic source said Saturday (July 26) that a US-mediated meeting with Israeli officials in Paris sought to "contain the escalation" after recent sectarian violence in southern Syria prompted Israeli intervention. Israel launched strikes this month on Damascus and Druze-majority Sweida province, saying it was acting both in support of the religious minority and to enforce its demands for a demilitarised southern Syria. The Syrian diplomatic source told state television on Saturday that the Paris meeting "brought together a delegation from the foreign ministry and the general intelligence service with the Israeli side", and addressed "recent security developments and attempts to contain the escalation in southern Syria". Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels. On Thursday (July 24), US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack had said he held talks with unspecified Syrian and Israeli officials in Paris. A senior diplomat had previously told AFP that Barrack would be facilitating talks between Damascus's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer. According to the source cited by state TV, the meeting "addressed the possibility of reactivating the disengagement agreement with international guarantees, while demanding the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from points where they recently advanced". After the overthrow of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel sent troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that used to separate the countries' forces in the strategic Golan Heights. It has since conducted incursions deeper into southern Syria, demanding the area's total demilitarisation. Damascus has previously confirmed holding indirect contacts with Israel seeking a return to the 1974 disengagement agreement that created the buffer zone. The Paris meeting "did not result in any final agreements but rather represented initial consultations that aimed to reduce tensions and reopen communication channels in light of the ongoing escalation since early December", the diplomatic source said. More meetings were planned, the source said, adding that the Syrian side emphasised that the country's unity and sovereignty were non-negotiable. "Sweida and its people are an integral part of the Syrian state," the delegation said, according to the source. Syrian and Israeli officials had previously met in Baku on July 12, according to a diplomatic source in Damascus, coinciding with a visit to Azerbaijan by Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The two countries have technically been at war since 1948, and Israel has occupied the Golan Heights, which it seized from Syria, since 1967. After Assad's ouster, Israel carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria to prevent key military assets from falling into the hands of the new Islamist-led administration.
Gulf Today
3 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Trump plays golf in Scotland while protesters take to the streets and decry his visit
US President Donald Trump played golf on Saturday at his course on Scotland's coast while protesters around the country took to the streets to decry his visit and accuse United Kingdom leaders of pandering to the American. Trump and his son Eric played with the US ambassador to Britain, Warren Stephens, near Turnberry, a historic course that the Trump family's company took over in 2008. Hundreds of protesters gathered on the cobblestone and tree-lined street in front of the US Consulate about 160 kilometres away in Edinburgh, Scotland's capital. Speakers on a makeshift stage told the crowd that Trump was not welcome and they criticised British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for striking a recent trade deal to avoid stiff US tariffs on goods imported from the UK. Donald Trump (2L) reacts as he plays golf at the Trump Turnberry Golf Courses, in Turnberry. AFP Protests were planned in other cities as environmental activists, opponents of Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza and pro-Ukraine groups loosely formed a "Stop Trump Coalition." "I think there are far too many countries that are feeling the pressure of Trump and that they feel that they have to accept him and we should not accept him here,' said June Osbourne, 52, a photographer and photo historian from Edinburgh who protested wearing a red cloak and white hood, recalling "The Handmaid's Tale." Osbourne held up picture of Trump with "Resist' stamped over his face. The dual-US-Scottish citizen said the Republican president was "the worst thing that has happened to the world, the US, in decades.' Golf carts are parked surrounding President Donald Trump as he plays golf at the Trump Turnberry golf course. AP Saturday's protests were not nearly as large as the throngs that came out across Scotland when Trump played at the resort during his first term in 2018. But bagpipes played, people chanted "Trump Out!' and raised homemade signs that said "No red carpet for dictators," "We don't want you here' and "Stop Trump. Migrants welcome.' One dog had a sign that said "No treats for tyrants.' Some on the far right took to social media to call for gatherings supporting Trump in places such as Glasgow. Upon arriving in Scotland on Friday night, Trump admonished European leaders for not cracking down on immigration. "This immigration is killing Europe," he said. "You better get your act together,' Trump said. "You're not going to have Europe anymore.' While in Scotland, Trump is set to talk trade with Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president. But golf is a major focus. The Trumps will also visit another Trump course, in the Aberdeen area in northeastern Scotland. They plan to cut a ribbon on Tuesday, opening the second Trump course. The president has long lobbied for Turnberry to host the British Open, which it has not done since he took over ownership. "There's no place like it,' he said on Friday night. Associated Press
Khaleej Times
3 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Britain 'taking forward' Gaza food airdrop plan: PM Starmer's office
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday spoke to his French and German counterparts and outlined UK plans to get aid to people in Gaza and evacuate sick and injured children, his office said. "The prime minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to airdrop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance," a statement said. In a phone conversation, Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza "which they agreed is appalling". "They all agreed it would be vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently needed ceasefire into lasting peace," according to a readout released by Downing Street. "They discussed their intention to work closely together on a plan.... which would pave the way to a long-term solution and security in the region. They agreed that once this plan was worked up, they would seek to bring in other key partners, including in the region, to advance it," it added. The discussion comes a day after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres slammed the international community for turning a blind eye to widespread starvation in the Gaza Strip, calling it a "moral crisis that challenges the global conscience". Aid groups have warned of surging cases of starvation, particularly among children, in war-ravaged Gaza, which Israel placed under an aid blockade in March amid its ongoing war with Hamas. That blockade was partially eased two months later. The trickle of aid since then has been controlled by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
