UAE pledges $10M for ailing health sector in Gaza

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday pledged $10 million for the ailing health sector in the Gaza Strip amid the challenging conditions faced by the besieged Palestinian enclave.

“The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) pledged a contribution of around AED 37 million (US $10 million) in support of the healthcare sector in Gaza,” Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.

These funds “aimed at providing essential medical supplies to people in Gaza, especially children gravely impacted by the dire conditions pervasive now in Gaza,” it said.

“The pledge came as part of a Letter of Intent signed between MBRGI and the World Health Organization, aimed at supporting humanitarian efforts and providing life-saving emergency healthcare response in the Gaza strip,” the news agency added.

“The signing took place at the sidelines of MBRGI's participation in the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,” it said.

The health system in the Gaza Strip suffers from a severe collapse as a result of the ongoing Israeli war and the targeting of hospitals and medical staff.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 24,448 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 61,504 others, according to local health authorities.

Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

According to the UN, 85% of the population of Gaza is already internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure is damaged or destroyed.