UAE humanitarian teams have delivered more than 930 tonnes of aid to Gaza ahead of Eid Al Adha, sending food, clothing and relief supplies through four convoys under Operation Gallant Knight 3 as conditions in the enclave remain severe.The latest movement comprised 60 lorries carrying essential supplies into Gaza, including 540 tonnes of Eid clothing provided by the Emirates Red Crescent. The shipment was organised through the UAE’s relief hub in Al Arish, the Egyptian city that has become a central staging point for aid bound for the territory. The convoys were prepared with Egyptian partners before being moved towards Gaza through established humanitarian routes.
The delivery adds to a broader UAE relief operation that has combined air, sea and land corridors since the launch of Operation Gallant Knight 3 in November 2023. The campaign has focused on food supplies, medical aid, clothing, shelter materials, water access and support for health facilities, while also maintaining logistics links with Egypt and international relief networks.
Aid workers involved in the mission said the Eid consignment was designed to meet urgent needs while giving families a measure of dignity during the religious holiday. Gaza’s population continues to face acute shortages of food, clean water, medicine, fuel and safe shelter after prolonged conflict damaged hospitals, homes, power infrastructure and sanitation systems across the territory.
The UAE’s aid effort has expanded through repeated convoys and flights in the weeks before Eid. A 100-tonne aircraft carrying medical supplies, nutritional supplements for children and Eid clothing was dispatched to Al Arish in May, while other food shipments under the Humaid Air Bridge added further supplies for communities facing displacement and scarcity. Earlier convoys delivered medical equipment, ambulances and medicines to support overstretched facilities in Rafah and Khan Younis.
Operation Gallant Knight 3 has become one of the UAE’s largest humanitarian deployments linked to Gaza. Official figures place total assistance under the operation at more than 123,000 tonnes, valued at over $3.1 billion, covering food, health, shelter and relief requirements. The scale of the programme reflects Abu Dhabi’s attempt to sustain a multi-channel aid pipeline at a time when access to Gaza remains constrained by security checks, damaged roads, border procedures and shifting ceasefire arrangements.
The latest Eid convoy highlights the growing role of logistics in Gaza relief operations. Supplies are collected, sorted and loaded at Al Arish before onward movement towards the enclave. The route has required coordination among UAE teams, Egyptian authorities, aid agencies and local distribution partners, with priority given to goods that can be moved quickly and distributed to families without extensive storage requirements.
Food assistance remains the central component of the mission, given the sharp deterioration in household access to basic goods. Aid groups have warned that many families are surviving on limited rations, while market supplies remain volatile and prices have placed essentials beyond the reach of large sections of the population. Clothing support has also become a practical need, particularly for children and displaced families who have lost belongings or moved repeatedly between temporary shelters.
Medical support has formed another major strand of the UAE campaign. Field facilities, medical points and supply convoys have been used to reinforce local health services strained by casualties, disease risks and shortages of equipment. Shipments of medicines, ambulances and medical consumables have been aimed at helping doctors deal with emergency cases as well as chronic conditions that have become harder to manage during the war.
The UAE has also supported bakeries, desalination plants and relief initiatives intended to address daily civilian needs. These projects have targeted bread production, drinking water availability and community-level support, complementing larger food and medical shipments. Humanitarian teams have framed the approach as a sustained intervention rather than a single holiday operation.
The Eid delivery comes as regional and international actors continue to push for wider humanitarian access to Gaza. Relief flows have remained subject to disruption, and aid agencies have said that truck volumes often fall short of what is required for a population facing mass displacement and extensive infrastructure damage. The UAE’s latest convoys therefore form part of a wider contest over how quickly aid can be moved into Gaza and how effectively it can reach those most in need.
For Abu Dhabi, Operation Gallant Knight 3 also strengthens the UAE’s visibility as a major humanitarian actor in the Palestinian crisis. The mission has drawn on state institutions, the Emirates Red Crescent, charitable bodies and logistical support from ports, airports and relief hubs. The Eid convoy underscores the country’s emphasis on combining emergency goods with symbolic support for families marking a major religious occasion under wartime conditions.
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