The United Arab Emirates sent a plane carrying urgent medical aid to the Egyptian city of Arish to be brought into the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing, Emirati state news agency WAM said on Friday.
The Gulf country's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Friday also directed the provision of 50 million AED ($13.61 million) in humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, WAM reported.
Since Hamas fighters burst across a barrier fence and killed 1,300 Israelis on Saturday, Israel has responded with the most intensive air strikes of its 75-year conflict with the Palestinians. Gaza authorities say 1,800 people have been killed; the United Nations says 400,000 people have already been made homeless.
In 2020, The UAE became the first Gulf country to normalize relations with Israel, breaking with decades of Arab policy toward the Palestinian cause. A Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries came into effect in March, Israel’s first free trade agreement with an Arab state.