UAE receives ninth batch of wounded Palestinian children and cancer patients

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The ninth batch of wounded Palestinian children and cancer patients arrived at Abu Dhabi International Airport on Wednesday evening.

It comes as part of President Sheikh Mohamed’s pledge to treat 1,000 wounded Palestinian children and 1,000 of those suffering with cancer from the Gaza Strip in UAE hospitals.

The plane took the injured from Al Arish, 45km west of the Egypt-Gaza border, before landing in the Emirates on Wednesday.

Dr Maha Tayseer Barakat, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Medical Affairs and Life Sciences, explained 49 injured children and cancer patients had been evacuated with their companions.

The group was accompanied by a specialist medical team, which carried out the evacuation process after examining them and evaluating their conditions.

As Dr Barakat pointed out that under the Gallant Knight 3 operation the UAE had already received 426 patients from Gaza, it takes the total number receiving treatment in the UAE to 475.

She added that since the launch of its services, the Emirati field hospital in southern Gaza has received 2,644 injured people whose injuries varied from moderate to severe.

UAE humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip now amounts to 15,000 tonnes of food, while a number of desalination plants – with a total capacity of 1.2 million gallons per day – pump water into the enclave, benefitting more than 600,000 Palestinians.

Wednesday’s group, alongside their families, expressed their thanks to the UAE leadership.