Israel-Hamas war: UAE flexes diplomatic muscle with Gaza as tensions rise | World news

Since the conflict began nearly 10 months ago, the UAE’s relief efforts in El-Arish and the Palestinian territory have cost the UAE about $700 million, Sultan Mohammed Al Shamsi, one of the Emirati officials overseeing the operations, told Bloomberg in early July.

This includes setting up a field hospital in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which has treated some 50,000 people, according to its staff, and a second makeshift medical unit on a ship anchored nearby in the Mediterranean Sea.

The UAE’s push is a testament to the Gulf nation’s growing regional clout, which has built ties with Israel and strengthened its bond with Egypt in recent years — including through a $35 billion investment to help unlock an International Monetary Fund bailout.

The country is using those relationships, and its trillions of petrodollars, to play a leading role in diplomatic and aid efforts in the conflict, and has indicated a willingness to help prepare for a post-war scenario — including by sending security forces to Gaza. That said, its influence can only go so far — as the war shows no signs of ending and the Israeli leadership has paid little heed to international calls for a cease-fire.

Part of the UAE’s motivation may be “to become an important diplomatic intermediary that can deal with Israel and Egypt in a way that few other countries can,” said Steffen Hertog, an associate professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science. “The UAE is also under some pressure to have a positive impact on Palestine, given the amount of criticism it is receiving in the Arab public sphere” for establishing ties with Israel, he said.

The move follows other international interventions by the UAE, including brokering a prisoner swap deal between Russia and Ukraine in June.

Desalination plants

The UAE operates about half a dozen water desalination plants in El-Arish, producing more than a million gallons a day for the people of Gaza, while several warehouses containing food, medicine and clothing have been built on the Egyptian side of the border. Funding has been provided for airdrops costing up to hundreds of thousands of dollars per ton, according to Al Shamsi, who is assistant foreign minister for development affairs and international organizations.

However, despite efforts by the UAE and others, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is worsening, he said. Without access via land routes, including the Rafah Border Crossing into Sinai — closed since Israel took control in May — aid groups have been forced to rely mainly on airdrops, which require approval from the Israeli government.

“By sea, land and through 300 flights, we have provided nearly 40,000 tons of humanitarian aid to meet the urgent needs of the Palestinians,” Al Hashimy told Bloomberg.

Some Emirati military planes stationed at El-Arish airport can carry tons of food and medical supplies. They recently carried packages to northern Gaza, the area most impacted by Israel’s air and ground campaign, Al-Shamsi said.

“The nature of food insecurity across the Gaza Strip is unprecedented in this century,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in research published in April. About 90 percent of people in the densely populated strip have fled their homes and lack access to sufficient shelter, food, medical services and clean water, according to the United Nations.

For Duaa’, a mother of five from Gaza, arriving at the UAE’s makeshift hospital with her children about three months ago gave her shelter after months of constant bombardment. She is waiting to be transferred to the Gulf country to get a prosthetic leg after having her right leg amputated.

“I haven’t seen my husband for months — he’s in an Egyptian hospital, but his case was too critical to be transferred here,” she told Bloomberg. “This situation is more difficult than anyone can imagine.”

The UAE’s Al Hashimy said a ceasefire and the release of all hostages and detainees held by Hamas were urgently needed to halt the escalation in the region. There was “an unprecedented state of instability,” she said.

Ceasefire negotiations

Negotiations for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire brokered by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt have been stalled for months — and appear more difficult than ever to resolve after Hamas’s political chief was assassinated in Tehran last week. Israel and Hamas have blamed Israel and vowed to retaliate. The Israeli government has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.

Israel has vowed to kill all Hamas leaders since the war began in October, when the group — designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union — swept through the south of the country, killing about 1,200 people. More than 39,000 Palestinians have died in Israel’s subsequent military campaign, according to the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza.

The UAE established diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords, a series of agreements brokered by the administration of former US President Donald Trump that established relations between the Jewish state and other Arab nations, including Bahrain.

The agreement was intended to promote economic cooperation between the two sides and reduce regional and security tensions. The results were mixed. The UAE maintained dialogue with Israel throughout the war with Hamas, although it was unable to contain the country’s military aggression.

At the same time, it is under pressure from other Arab countries to maintain ties as the bombing of Palestinians continues.

Abu Dhabi’s position on normalization with Israel has not changed, according to a person familiar with the government’s thinking who was not authorized to speak publicly. The UAE believes that having diplomatic relations has allowed it to get aid inside Gaza and hold talks with the government, the person said.

The UAE’s investment in Egypt — which helped avert an economic crisis — was seen by many as a sign that Abu Dhabi is serious about competing for influence with oil-rich rival Gulf powers including Saudi Arabia and Qatar. And a particular focus on humanitarian efforts in Gaza likely puts the UAE in the good graces of the U.S., LSE’s Hertog said.