UAE helps Gaza resume COVID-19 testing as normalization dust settles
The UAE sent a medical aid convoy to the Gaza Strip as the COVID-19 pandemic worsens, in the first such shipment since normalizing ties with Israel.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Medical aid from the United Arab Emirates arrived in the Gaza Strip Dec. 17, the first such shipment since the UAE announced full diplomatic relations with Israel on Aug. 13.
The convoy was loaded with 14.4 tons of medical supplies and testing kits to support efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the besieged enclave, according to the Emirates News Agency, which stated, “This aid is part of the UAE's commitment to providing continuous support to the Palestinian people.”
The Health Ministry in Gaza expressed no objections to the Emirati medical aid despite Palestinian discomfort with the UAE's normalization of its relations with Israel.
As of Dec. 28, infections of COVID-19 in the Gaza Strip reached 38,614 cases and 340 deaths, according to the Health Ministry, which announced Dec. 6 that its only laboratory had stopped conducting PCR tests because it ran out of testing kits. The ministry also warned the spiking coronavirus numbers are endangering the lives of over two million people in Gaza.
