UAE: Meet the resident who volunteered to distribute aid in Gaza

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Bringing humanitarian aid to war-torn Gaza requires not only courage but also complete selflessness to brave adversity. These virtues plus a strong commitment to make a change have driven a UAE resident to make that self-sacrifice.

British-Egyptian national Ahmed Ali, 36, is currently in Cairo with a group of aid workers who are waiting for a permit to enter the Palestinian territory and deliver urgent humanitarian relief to Palestinians caught in conflict.

“The situation is very dire,” Ali told Khaleej Times in a WhatsApp message from Egypt on Tuesday. “It’s a humanitarian catastrophe that we don’t want to happen. Over two million people have been deprived of access to food, water, electricity and fuel supplies. To say it’s heartbreaking is an understatement,” he added.

Ali arrived in Cairo a week ago to be among the first batch of international volunteers who will be allowed to enter Gaza. While waiting for the entry permit, Ali is busy helping an international organisation with the packing of goods from donations that have arrived from various parts of the world.

Urgent needs

With strong international pressure, dozens of relief trucks have already crossed from Egypt to Gaza through its Rafah border, which is approximately three kilometres away from Israel.

“But they (relief trucks) are only a very small fraction of what are urgently needed by the Palestinian people, especially the women and children,” Ali noted. Even according to UN estimates, around 100 truckloads of food, water and medical aid are needed daily to meet the needs in Gaza – where, according to reports, over 5,000 people have been killed under Israeli air strikes and over a million people have been displaced.

Relief workers like Ali are urging the international community to immediately address the slow passage of relief aid to Palestine. They are also calling for an immediate ceasefire so food and material assistance will come unhampered.

Ali, however, is not seeing immediate end in violence. He warned there can be more human casualties. He cited an incident on Sunday (October 22), when an Israeli tank had "accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian post" near the Gaza border.

Brave volunteers

Despite the dangers, however, Ali is seeing more and more volunteers committing to help. “In my 15 years of doing various charity work – my latest being in Morocco after the earthquake – I have never seen braver volunteers than the ones I see today who are willing to help the Palestinian people,” he said.

“We have seen pictures and videos of people lying dead and neighbourhoods destroyed. They have moved us to act,” underlined Ali, adding: “Yes, it really takes a lot of courage and bravery to become a volunteer, especially in a war zone. But being physically present is not a requirement to help as everyone can do their own part."

Ali continued: "I have shared my story and gave a small glimpse of the situation in the hope that I can inspire more UAE residents to extend help to the Palestinian people – no matter how big or small."