UAE air bridge to Gaza has transported 450 tonnes of relief supplies

The UAE’s Ahmed bin Rashid Humanitarian Bridge had transported 450 tonnes of relief supplies to Gaza by October 24, 2026, the Emirates News Agency reported. The sixth aircraft carrying aid departed that day. The operation is part of the UAE’s Operation Chivalrous Knight 3 and combines air, sea and land transport.

The report said loading had begun aboard the Ahmed bin Rashid Humanitarian Ship, adding a maritime leg to the existing air deliveries. Supplies arriving in the Egyptian city of Al Arish are transported overland into Gaza and distributed to families. The release did not state how much of the 450-tonne total had reached Gaza itself or provide a breakdown by commodity.

The airlift began with aircraft carrying relief goods to Al Arish. A separate October 23 WAM report on a new winter-relief air bridge said its first flight carried essential supplies and thermal blankets for UNICEF, using a C-130 aircraft with an approximate cargo capacity of nine tonnes. That report described at least three additional flights as scheduled; the October 24 total refers to the broader humanitarian bridge and should not be conflated with that individual winter shipment.

The October 24 announcement presented the air, maritime and overland routes as an integrated logistics network intended to sustain deliveries. It did not publish a total for the maritime cargo, the number of planned ship sailings, delivery schedules or the amount distributed to recipients. The 450-tonne figure is a cumulative transported amount reported for the operation, not a measure of aid received by households.

The addition of a ship broadens the transport modes described by the UAE operation, but the release does not quantify the contribution of each mode or compare their costs and capacity. Further reporting would need shipment manifests, arrival and distribution records, and consistent updates on total tonnage to assess the flow from departure through delivery.

For now, the official account establishes the sixth aircraft departure, the cumulative 450-tonne airlift figure and the start of ship loading. It also describes Al Arish as the transfer point for onward land movement. The source does not provide independent verification of final receipt or the distribution outcome in Gaza.

The October 24 update also reported the departure of the sixth aircraft, while a vessel was being loaded with relief supplies. WAM described the ship as part of a combined air, sea and land route: cargo moves by air or sea to Al Arish, Egypt, before onward transport overland. A separate WAM account on October 23 concerned a winter-relief air bridge for UNICEF, whose first C-130 flight carried essential supplies and thermal blankets and had approximate capacity of nine tonnes. That is a distinct shipment and cannot be added to the 450-tonne cumulative figure without an explicit reconciliation from the operator.