Five aircraft flew out of Abu Dhabi for Arish in northern Egypt carrying equipment and supplies for the 150-bed facility, WAM news agency said late yesterday.

An official contacted by AFP said there was no immediate information on how the equipment will be transferred to Gaza, where there is only one operational border point, the Rafah crossing near Arish.

The hospital’s facilities will include anaesthetics and surgery, gynaecology, and intensive care units “catering to both children and adults”, WAM said.

Some 4,000 children are among the 10,000 who have died in the bombings so far, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said yesterday.

The ongoing war erupted when Hamas fighters crossed from Gaza into southern Israel on Oct 7, killing some 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.

In retaliation, Israel has unleashed relentless strikes and sent in ground troops with the aim of crushing the fighters in the Gaza Strip.

The UAE, a wealthy Gulf monarchy, broke with Arab tradition to establish ties with Israel in the 2020 Abraham Accords agreements.

It has previously announced plans to bring about 1,000 Palestinian children and their families from the Gaza Strip for treatment at hospitals in the Middle Eastern country.