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Palestinian cancer patients who were flown to the UAE for medical treatment have said they would have died had they stayed in the Gaza Strip.
Many of the patients, who have advanced stages of cancer, have praised the UAE for providing them with treatment, which was halted abruptly in Gaza due to the war in the enclave.
Awni Saleh, 63, has end-stage lung cancer. He arrived in the UAE on Saturday with his wife and was admitted to the ICU with breathing problems.
I would have died had I remained in Gaza
Awni Qaddur Saleh,
63
It is the first time he has been able to speak in months.
“I would have died had I remained in Gaza,” the father-of-eight tells The National.
“There was no food, no water and I couldn't go to the hospital. I was so sick.
“I am so grateful to the UAE government and President Sheikh Mohamed, I am now getting better.”
Mr Saleh is one of many cancer patients who were transported from Al Arish Airport in Egypt to the UAE for medical treatment, as part of Operation Gallant Knight 3 to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Sheikh Mohamed last month directed that 1,000 Palestinian children and 1,000 cancer patients be brought to the UAE for treatment.
The injured will be transported from Gaza and accompanied by their families.
Mr Saleh's wife Fatiyeh Hadi, 62, says she is grateful to the UAE for looking after her husband.
“Just look at the TV and you will see how difficult the situation is,” says Ms Hadi.
“The UAE and the government have saved our lives – particularly cancer patients were treatment is critical and a delay could make the cancer progress.
“They have destroyed all the hospitals and the hospital my husband was getting treated in. He wasn't speaking or eating and constantly had a high fever.
“Seeing him now and a few months ago is like the difference between life and death.”
The couple's home was also destroyed in Israeli air strikes in northern Gaza.
“We had to crawl out from under the rubble and move to the south. Palestine is full of displaced citizens now,” says Mr Saleh.
Huwaida Abo Mostafa is another patient receiving treatment in the UAE.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer in September and was on her third dose of chemotherapy at the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital before it ran out of medicine and was later attacked.
The 38-year-old and her husband, Mohammed Mostafa, said they received a text confirming that they would be transported to the UAE for treatment and to head to the Rafah border.
The couple said the journey took them 26 hours.
“It was very difficult to get across the border – there were so many checkpoints and procedures,” Ms Abo Mostafa told The National.
“It still feels like a dream that I am here.”
Mr Mostafa said he had to walk 40km to get fresh water for his wife in Gaza.
“There were no fruits, no rice, no salt or sugar. Everyone was starving,” he said.
The couple's six children, the youngest a one-year-old, are staying with their in-laws in Gaza while they are in the UAE.
Hanan Abo Sumra, 60, was also receiving treatment at the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in Gaza.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer in July and was on her second dose of chemotherapy when the war broke out.
Ms Sumra arrived in the UAE with her husband Jameel, 67, last month to continue her treatment.
“I spoke to my children today and told them that I was going to be OK,” the mother-of-three said.
“I told them that the UAE was taking care of me and I was in safe hands.”
Abdullah Al Najjar, 65, is a carpenter and fisherman, trades he picked up from his father and grandparents.
He has 13 children including seven girls, and six boys who fish who are also fishermen.
While living in Gaza, he built boats which he used to go fishing. But when the war began, Israeli forces burnt his vessels and the sea became off-limits.
Mr Al Najjar arrived in Abu Dhabi two weeks ago to receive urgent medical treatment for colon cancer and needed further chemotherapy after his surgery in June.
“My family is fine but life is so hard. Every minute we expect an air raid. There is no water and food. After they burnt our ships, they also destroyed our livelihood,” he told The National.
“Being here in the UAE is a blessing and we are indebted to the government and the leadership for welcoming us.”
Mr Al Najjar said medical staff in the UAE have looked after him well, with nurses bringing him everything he needs including water, food and painkillers.
“God protect Gaza and the UAE,” he said.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Schedule:
Friday, January 12: Six fourball matches
Saturday, January 13: Six foursome (alternate shot) matches
Sunday, January 14: 12 singles
ILT20%20UAE%20stars
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Results
2-15pm: Commercial Bank Of Dubai – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m; Winner: Al Habash, Patrick Cosgrave (jockey), Bhupat Seemar (trainer)
2.45pm: Al Shafar Investment – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Day Approach, Ray Dawson, Ahmad bin Harmash
3.15pm: Dubai Real estate Centre – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Celtic Prince, Richard Mullen, Rashed Bouresly
3.45pm: Jebel Ali Sprint by ARM Holding – Listed (TB) Dh500,000 (D) 1,000m; Winner: Khuzaam, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
4.15pm: Shadwell – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Tenbury Wells, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
4.45pm: Jebel Ali Stakes by ARM Holding – Listed (TB) Dh500,000 (D) 1,950m; Winner: Lost Eden, Andrea Atzeni, Doug Watson
5.15pm: Jebel Ali Racecourse – Handicap (TB) Dh76,000 (D) 1,950m; Winner: Rougher, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
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THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ETHE%20SPECS%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EEngine%3A%203.5-litre%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3ETransmission%3A%209-speed%20automatc%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20279hp%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20350Nm%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh250%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
MATCH INFO
Aston Villa 1 (Konsa 63')
Sheffield United 0
Red card: Jon Egan (Sheffield United)
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Asia Cup 2018 Qualifier
Sunday's results:
- UAE beat Malaysia by eight wickets
- Nepal beat Singapore by four wickets
- Oman v Hong Kong, no result
Tuesday fixtures:
- Malaysia v Singapore
- UAE v Oman
- Nepal v Hong Kong
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
