UAE aid ship Khalifa carrying field hospital for Gaza prepares to set sail

An Emirati ship carrying a fully equipped field hospital to support civilians in war-torn Gaza is due to set sail from Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi in the coming days.

The vessel, called Khalifa, will also transport ambulances, medical supplies and drinking water tankers to ensure clean water access for affected communities to Al Arish Port in Egypt.

A variety of food, such as ready-to-eat goods and other products for community kitchens and field bakeries, as well as tents, relief and hygiene kits, clothing and mattresses, are also being loaded on to the ship before it departs.

It will be the eighth such aid ship to be sent by the UAE in support of Gaza since the war with Israel broke out on October 7, 2023.

The UAE's Operation Chivalrous Knight 3, ordered by President Sheikh Mohamed, is being conducted in collaboration with Emirates Red Crescent, and other humanitarian and charitable institutions in the UAE.

More than 55,000 tonnes of aid have been delivered on more than 500 flights, six transport ships and 2,500 lorries.

The UAE's seventh aid ship, carrying 2,500 tonnes of aid for the people of Gaza, was sent this month. That shipment, which initially docked at Ashdod in Israel before being sent on to Gaza, was laden with food packages containing essential goods such as flour, dates, milk and tea, state news agency Wam reported on July 2.

On Tuesday, the UAE set out plans to supply desalinated water to the southern Gaza Strip through a new pipeline.

Under the project, water will be delivered from the Egyptian border. The pipeline, 6.7km long and 315mm wide, will link the desalination plant built by the Emirates on the Egyptian side to displaced Palestinians between Khan Younis and Rafah.

The initiative aims to serve 600,000 affected Gaza residents, providing 15 litres of desalinated water per person each day.

More than 80 per cent of water facilities in Gaza have been destroyed, leaving many within the enclave struggling to fight dehydration on a daily basis.

“The new water pipeline project is not merely an emergency response to the water crisis in Gaza, but rather an extension of the UAE's consistent approach to supporting the Palestinian people, especially in light of the catastrophic circumstances caused by the war,” said Sharif Al Nairab, media official for Operation Gallant Knight 3.

The Gazan Health Ministry says 58,479 Palestinians have been killed and 139,355 wounded since the start of the conflict.

Fighting has displaced nearly all of Gaza's 2.3 million people while triggering a hunger and health crisis in the enclave.

The war began when Hamas led an attack on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,400 people and abducting around 240.