First plane carrying children from Gaza with urgent medical needs arrives in UAE

The first plane carrying 15 people from Gaza, including children and their families, arrived in the UAE Saturday, according to the country’s state-run WAM news agency.

The flight is part of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s initiative to provide medical treatment in UAE hospitals for 1,000 children accompanied by their families from the Gaza Strip.

The plane left El Arish International Airport in Egypt and arrived in Abu Dhabi carrying children with urgent medical needs, including severe injuries, burns and cancer patients, according to WAM.

Some context: Worries over deteriorating conditions for children in Gaza, continue to mount as a humanitarian crisis marked by the lack of clean water and fuel deepens. More than 12,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began airstrikes on Gaza on October 7, the Hamas government press office said in a statement Friday. Among those killed, an estimated 5,000 were children.