How Arab states are aiding Palestinians amid Gaza’s deepening humanitarian emergency 

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Saudi Arabia and the UAE have pledged assistance to Gaza, but aid agencies have struggled to gain access via the Rafah border crossing. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Updated 20 October 2023
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How Arab states are aiding Palestinians amid Gaza’s deepening humanitarian emergency 

  • Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar have pledged millions of dollars to assist Palestinians under Israeli bombardment 
  • Gaza has been under strict Israeli embargo since Hamas launched its cross-border attack on Israel on October 7

RIYADH: As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens in tandem with Israel’s expanding war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, the Arab Gulf states have been pledging aid and support to assist civilians living under siege and daily bombardment.

Since Hamas launched its unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel on Oct. 7, Gaza has been under strict Israeli embargo, depriving its 2.2 million-strong population of food, water, medicine, and electricity.

Gaza’s only power plant quickly shut down owing to a lack of fuel. According to the UN, hospitals in the Gaza Strip, where thousands of civilians have taken shelter, are expected to run out of generator fuel within days, putting the lives of patients at risk.

The siege, combined with the closure of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, meant that humanitarian aid agencies found it impossible to deliver assistance. More than 200 trucks and some 3,000 tons of aid are reported to be positioned at or near the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s only connection to Egypt.

UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, has said that unless water and fuel are sent “immediately,” Gaza inhabitants are in “imminent danger” of epidemics and death.

 

 

On Wednesday, Israel said it would allow Egypt to deliver limited humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. The announcement to allow water, food, and other supplies came as anger over the blast at Gaza City’s Al-Ahli Hospital spread across the Middle East, and as US President Joe Biden visited Israel in hopes of preventing a wider conflict in the region.

Biden said Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi agreed to open the crossing and to let in an initial group of 20 trucks with humanitarian aid. The convoy would start moving on Friday at the earliest, White House officials said.




Medics and a convoy of trucks loaded with aid supplies for Gaza provided by Egyptian NGOs waits for an agreement to cross through the Egypt-Gaza border in Arish City in Egypt’s north Sinai Peninsula on October 15, 2023. (AFP)

The office of the Israeli prime minister said Israel “will not thwart” deliveries of food, water, or medicine from Egypt, as long as they are limited to civilians in the south of Gaza and do not go to Hamas militants.

Supplies would go in under the supervision of the UN, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told Al-Arabiya TV.

The Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing has been bombed multiple times since Israel launched its war on Hamas. Egypt will have to repair the road across the border that was cratered by Israeli airstrikes.




Medics and a convoy of trucks loaded with aid supplies for Gaza provided by Egyptian NGOs waits for an agreement to cross through the Egypt-Gaza border in Arish City in Egypt’s north Sinai Peninsula on October 15, 2023. (AFP)

“At this stage, we can’t bring aid into Gaza,” Christoph Hangar, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, told Arab News before the Israeli announcement was made.

“We are pre-positioning staff and relief items as we speak so we’re ready when access to Gaza is granted, which it must urgently be.”

In response to the deepening humanitarian emergency, Arab Gulf states have renewed their commitment to the resolution of the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict and pledged millions of dollars in aid to the relief effort.




Volunteers and NGO workers stand near tents that they set up along the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on October 19, 2023, demanding clearance for an aid convoy to enter the Gaza Strip. (AFP)

Israel has ordered residents of north Gaza to leave for the south, hoping perhaps to clear the area of civilians in preparation for a ground invasion, which would likely involve brutal urban combat.

The Oct. 7 attack killed at least 1,400 people, most of them Israeli civilians, and resulted in the capture of more than 200 people, who are now being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas and other “resistance factions.”

The presence of the hostages in the enclave has complicated Israel’s plans for a ground invasion.

INNUMBERS

2.4 million Population of the Gaza Strip.

1 million People displaced by the Israeli bombardment.

3,000 Palestinians killed across the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7.

$2 million Money donated to UNRWA by Saudi Arabia.

$6 billion Funding provided to Palestinians by KSrelief since 2000.

Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, was due to meet El-Sisi in Egypt on Thursday to discuss how to get humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN chief, said in a statement: “Obviously, in order to move humanitarian aid through Gaza, we need safe passage. We can’t move humanitarian trucks and convoys while active bombardment is ongoing.

“There are intense discussions going on in which we’re involved with a number of parties in order to try to get the most basic humanitarian aid in as quickly as possible and that’s food, water, medicine. Those things are urgently needed.”




Boxes of humanitarian aid and supplies from the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization are loaded aboard cargo planes in Amman, Jordan, for Gaza on Oct. 12, 2023. (REUTERS)

“Since the creation of Israel, the Saudi population and government have always been very sympathetic to the Palestinian cause,” Khaled Al-Maeena, a Saudi political commentator, told Arab News.

“It was done out of genuine goodwill for the Palestinian people who were oppressed and whose lands were occupied. What we are witnessing now is a Palestinian holocaust.”

Since 2000, the Saudi aid agency KSrelief has provided more than $6 billion in aid to the Palestinian people across multiple sectors, including food security, health, education, water, sanitation, and shelter.

In 2022 alone, Saudi Arabia contributed $27 million to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. On Monday, Saudi Arabia announced it would be donating a further $2 million to UNRWA.




Saudi humanitarian aid group KSrelief has a continuing food basket distribution project in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. (KSrelief photo)

The money was presented to Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA commissioner general, by Naif Al-Sudairi, the Saudi ambassador to Jordan, at the Saudi Embassy in Amman on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia’s private sector has also been making pledges. McDonald’s KSA has publicly announced it will be donating $533,000 to Gaza relief efforts, stating it was “proud of its Saudi identity” and support for humanitarian issues.

“As a purely Saudi company, we have been proud, since our inception, of our Saudi identity, and our continuous contribution to supporting our economy and national community and adopting social and humanitarian matters that our community is concerned with,” the restaurant chain said in an online statement.

“We are delighted to announce that McDonald’s KSA will be donating SR2 million ($533,201) to support the relief efforts for the citizens of Gaza, may God help them. This contribution follows coordination with the relevant official authorities.”

Prior to the conflict, US-brokered talks had been underway concerning the potential normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel pending clear signs of progress on the status of the Palestinians.

In August, while these talks were ongoing, the Kingdom also offered to resume financial support for the Palestinian Authority.

How the present crisis will impact the normalization talks remains to be seen, but the Kingdom’s stance on the need to resolve the Palestinian question remains unchanged.

In a statement following the Hamas attack, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said it was “renewing its call on the international community to assume its responsibilities and activate a credible peace process that leads to a two-state solution in a way that achieves security and peace in the region and protects civilians.”




Staff members unload aid for the Palestinian Gaza Strip from an Emirates cargo plane on the tarmac of Egypt's el-Arish airport in the north Sinai Peninsula on October 19, 2023. (AFP)

In 2020, the UAE became the first Arab Gulf state to normalize relations with Israel under the US-brokered Abraham Accords.

A Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries came into effect in March this year, signifying Israel’s first free trade agreement with an Arab state. Bahrain and Morocco followed suit.

In response to the crisis now unfolding in Gaza, the UAE has launched a campaign dubbed Tarahum — or “compassion” in Arabic — to help vulnerable civilians, particularly the 1 million children who make up nearly half of Gaza’s population.

Overseen by the Emirates Red Crescent, the UAE has called for donations and volunteers, with its first relief center established at the Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal.




UAE's Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, accompanied by other top officials, visits the Tarahum - for Gaza campaign center in Abu Dhabi, which opened on October 15. Other aid collection centers will also be opened across the ‎UAE at later dates. (WAM photo)

A plane carrying medical supplies has already been sent to the Egyptian city of El-Arish before onward transit to the Rafah border crossing, according to the Emirati state news agency WAM.

On Tuesday, Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, prime minister of the UAE, directed the provision of $20 million in humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people.

Qatar has likewise established its own aid effort, deploying a plane bound for El-Arish on Monday carrying 37 tons of food and medical aid, provided by the Qatar Fund for Development under the direction of Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.

“This aid is part of the State of Qatar’s full support for the fraternal Palestinian people amid the difficult humanitarian conditions due to the Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip,” Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.




Qatari Air Force crew load food and medical aid to a cargo plane on October 16, 2023, at Al Udeid Air Base in Doha. The humanitarian aid from the Qatar Fund for Development is headed to Egypt for Gaza refugees. (Qatar News Agency/Handout via REUTERS)

Palestinians have been massing at the sealed Rafah border crossing since the crisis began, in the hope of leaving Gaza before the much talked about ground offensive begins. On the other side of the border fence, aid agencies are powerless to intervene.

“We are exploring all avenues to bring life-saving aid into Gaza,” said Hangar of the ICRC. “This initial goods convoy includes medicine and thousands of household kits for families which include hygiene items and chlorine tablets for drinking water.”

He added: “We are also urgently deploying staff to relieve colleagues in Gaza whenever we are able to move in. This includes a mobile surgical team and other health staff, a weapons contamination expert, and relief coordinators specialized in water and habitat and food security.”

 


Iran says deal can be reached if US shows goodwill

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Iran says deal can be reached if US shows goodwill

TEHRAN: Iran’s top diplomat said Tuesday he believed a new nuclear deal could be agreed with the United States provided Tehran’s longtime foe shows sufficient goodwill in talks to begin in Oman on Saturday.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran’s principal aim remained the lifting of sweeping US sanctions. Their reimposition by President Donald Trump in 2018 has dealt a heavy blow to the Iranian economy.
Trump made the surprise announcement that his administration would open talks with Iran during a White House meeting on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose country is an arch foe of Tehran.
Trump said the talks would be “direct” but Araghchi insisted his negotiations with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday would be “indirect.”
“We will not accept any other form of negotiation,” Araghchi told official media. “The format of the negotiations... is not the most important thing in my view. What really counts is the effectiveness or otherwise of the talks.
“If the other side shows enough of the necessary willingess, a deal can be found... The ball is in America’s court.”
Speaking Monday in the Oval Office, Trump said he was hopeful of reaching a deal with Tehran, but warned that the Islamic republic would be in “great danger” if the talks failed.
“We’re dealing with the Iranians, we have a very big meeting on Saturday and we’re dealing with them directly,” Trump told reporters.
Trump’s announcement came after Iran dismissed direct negotiations on a new deal to curb the country’s nuclear activities, calling the idea pointless.
The US president pulled out of the last deal in 2018, during his first presidency, and there has been widespread speculation that Israel, possibly with US help, might attack Iranian facilities if no new agreement is reached.
Trump issued a stern warning to Tehran, however.
“I think if the talks aren’t successful with Iran, I think Iran’s going to be in great danger, and I hate to say it, great danger, because they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
In an interview with US network NBC late last month. Trump went further. “If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” he said.
China and Russia held consultations with Iran in Moscow on Tuesday, after which the Kremlin welcomed the planned talks.
Key Iranian ally Russia welcomed the prospect of negotiations for a new nuclear accord to replace the deal with major powers that was unilaterally abandoned by Trump in 2018.
“We know that certain contacts — direct and indirect — are planned in Oman. And, of course, this can only be welcomed because it can lead to de-escalation of tensions around Iran,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that Moscow “absolutely” supported the initiative.
China called on the United States to “stop its wrong practice of using force to exert extreme pressure” after Trump threatened Iran with bombing if it fails to agree a deal.
“As the country that unilaterally withdrew from the comprehensive agreement on the Iran nuclear issue and caused the current situation, the United States should demonstrate political sincerity (and)... mutual respect,” its foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
Washington should “participate in dialogue and consultation, and at the same time stop its wrong practice of using force to exert extreme pressure,” Lin added.
The Israeli prime minister, whose government has also threatened military action against Iran to prevent it developing a nuclear weapon, held talks with Witkoff as well as Trump on Monday.
Netanyahu was a bitter opponent of the 2015 agreement between Iran and Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States which Trump later abandoned.
That deal saw Iran receive relief from international sanctions in return for restrictions on its nuclear activities overseen by the UN watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Trump’s withdrawal from the deal was followed by an Iranian decision one year later to stop complying with its own obligations under the deal.
The result has been that Iran has built up large stocks of highly enriched uranium that leave it a short step from weapons grade.
In its latest quarterly report in February, the IAEA said Iran had an estimated 274.8 kilograms (605 pounds) of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent. Weapons grade is around 90 percent.

World bank approves $1.1 billion in new financing to support Jordan

Updated 16 min 31 sec ago
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World bank approves $1.1 billion in new financing to support Jordan

AMMAN: The World Bank said on Monday it approved $1.1 billion in new financing to support Jordan's economy in the face of external shocks.
The bank said the financing bolsters the country's IMF-led reforms focused on four areas that aim to accelerate growth, create jobs and invest in sustainable energy projects.


King Abdullah of Jordan receives Greek Melkite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East

Updated 55 min ago
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King Abdullah of Jordan receives Greek Melkite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East

  • King Abdullah emphasized the need to maintain a Christian presence in the Middle East
  • Patriarch Youssef Absi acknowledged Jordan’s role in overseeing Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem

LONDON: King Abdullah II of Jordan received the Greek Melkite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Youssef Absi, on Tuesday in Amman.

King Abdullah emphasized the need to maintain a Christian presence in the Middle East, along with Jordan’s support for Syria’s security and stability to ensure the rights of all faith groups.

Patriarch Absi acknowledged Jordan’s role in overseeing Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, commending Jordan’s support for Palestinians and King Abdullah’s efforts in protecting the presence of Eastern Christians in the Middle East.

He said Jordan is a role model for coexistence and respect for Christian communities, the Petra news agency reported.

Crown Prince Hussein and Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, who advises King Abdullah on religious and cultural affairs, attended the meeting. Also present were the director of the king’s office, Alaa Batayneh, and the heads of the Melkite Greek Catholic churches in Jordan, Jerusalem, and Lebanon.


Macron tours Egypt aid outpost for Gaza

Updated 08 April 2025
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Macron tours Egypt aid outpost for Gaza

  • Macron was in El-Arish, 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of the Gaza Strip
  • The French president said he would meet with sick Palestinians and medical professionals in El-Arish

EL-ARISH: French President Emmanuel Macron visited Egypt’s port city of El-Arish on Tuesday, a key transit point for Gaza-bound aid, to call on Israel to lift restrictions on humanitarian access to the war-battered Palestinian territory.
An AFP journalist said Macron was in El-Arish, 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of the Gaza Strip, along with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
Macron, who arrived in Cairo on Sunday, has said he would meet with sick Palestinians and medical professionals in El-Arish, an “outpost of humanitarian support for the civilian population of Gaza.”
The French leader is also expected to tour Red Crescent warehouses and meet with UN and aid representatives.
In a symbolic stop on his Egypt tour, Macron will call for “the reopening of crossing points for the delivery of humanitarian goods into Gaza,” a presidency statement said.
Israel cut off aid to Gaza in early March, during an impasse in negotiations to extend a truce with Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack triggered the war.
Later in March, after a two-month truce, Israel resumed intense bombardment across the Gaza Strip and restarted ground operations.
In Cairo, Macron, El-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II called for an “immediate return” to the ceasefire.
The three leaders met on Monday to discuss the war and humanitarian efforts to alleviate the suffering of Gaza’s 2.4 million people, the vast majority of whom have been displaced at least once during the war.
In a joint statement on Monday, the heads of several UN agencies said many Gazans are “trapped, bombed and starved again, while, at crossing points, food, medicine, fuel and shelter supplies are piling up, and vital equipment is stuck” outside of the besieged territory.


Dubai crown prince makes first official visit to India

Updated 08 April 2025
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Dubai crown prince makes first official visit to India

  • Sheikh Hamdan is scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

DUBAI: Dubai’s Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al-Maktoum arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday morning, leading a high-level delegation on his first official visit to India.

He was received at Indira Gandhi International Airport by India’s Minister of Tourism and Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi, with an official reception held in his honor.

During the visit, Sheikh Hamdan is scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior officials to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation across key sectors.

The visit reflects the UAE’s commitment to expanding strategic partnerships and promoting innovation and collaboration with global allies.