Floating Emirates Al-Arish port hospital begins treating Gaza wounded

A floating Emirati hospital at the port of Al-Arish in eastern Egypt began treating Gazans on Sunday who were injured in the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

This comes within the framework of Emirati support for Gaza, according to the official Emirates News Agency, in the face of the genocidal Israeli war on the Strip since 7 October, which has left thousands martyred and injured.

According to the agency: “Today (Sunday), the Emirati floating hospital in the port of Al-Arish (eastern Egypt) began its treatment services to provide the necessary medical support to our Palestinian brothers and began receiving injured people from Gaza. A number of cases suffering injuries and fractures of varying severities arrived at the Emirati Hospital in the Port of Al-Arish.”

The agency added: “Today, the hospital performed its first surgical operation on a 20-year-old Palestinian man who was exposed to gunshots and shrapnel, which led to a dislocation and fracture of the shoulder, resulting in damage to the nerves in his arm and the inability to move his entire hand.”

The floating hospital, established in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Department of Health and Abu Dhabi Ports Group, includes a 100-member medical and administrative team from various specialities, with a capacity of 100 beds. It also hosts operating rooms, intensive care, radiology, a laboratory, a pharmacy and medical warehouses.

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The agency quoted the hospital’s director, Falah Al-Mahmoud, as saying: “The introduction of the hospital will strengthen the medical support system that the UAE provides to the people of the afflicted Strip and alleviate the severity of the circumstances they are suffering under.”

Al-Mahmoud pointed out: “The floating hospital is equipped with a helipad and a sea boat, which enhance the response to emergency and difficult cases that require rapid medical intervention.”

According to the same source, the floating hospital complements the role of the Emirati field hospital in Gaza, which was opened on 3 December, 2023, with a capacity of 200 beds and includes medical staff consisting of 83 volunteers of 21 nationalities, including 59 men and 24 women.

The Emirates News Agency stated that the field hospital in Gaza: “Conducted more than 764 major and minor surgical operations, and over the past months dealt with more than 6,620 cases that required medical intervention.”

These efforts come in the context of: “The instructions of the President of the Emirates Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan to provide all forms of support and assistance to the residents of the Gaza Strip as part of Operation Gallant Knight 3, launched on 5 November, 2023.

Since 7 October, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, leaving tens of thousands of victims, primarily children and women, according to Palestinian and United Nations data, which led to Israel appearing before the International Court of Justice on genocide charges.