The Palestinian Business Council in Dubai and Northern Emirates (PBC) announced its support for “Gaza In Our Hearts”, a Dubai Cares Ramadan campaign that is actively raising funds to provide emergency relief to the people of Gaza. The donations will go towards providing hot meals, food baskets, waterproof and fire-resistant tents in response to the growing shortage of essential supplies, in collaboration with ANERA, Dubai Cares’ implementing partner in Gaza.

As part of its support towards the “Gaza In Our Hearts” campaign, the PBC’s will roll out a wide-reaching engagement and fundraising drive that mobilizes members of the UAE community and encourages them to stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza.

With the support of its partners and sponsors, the PBC plans to raise awareness around the campaign through the help of content creators and social media influencers, urging the public to donate toward the “Gaza In Our Hearts” campaign. Dubai Cares, a civil society organization formally associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications (UN DGC), is a registered non-government organization under IACAD, the charitable activities regulator in Dubai.

The UAE community can support “Gaza In Our Hearts” through various donation channels including SMS via Etisalat by e& and du, online at www.dubaicares.ae, direct bank transfers to a designated Dubai Cares account, or by cheque addressed to Dubai Cares.

To boost donations for the “Gaza In Our Hearts” campaign, the PBC will organize a Ramadan event on Saturday, 23rd March 2024 at 10:00 PM at Sheikh Maktoum Hall, Dubai World Trade Center. The event will host representatives from both Dubai Cares and ANERA, who will shed light on the campaign’s pillars, the implementation process, and the urgent support needed from the community.

Commenting on the initiative, His Excellency Dr. Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer and Vice-Chairman of Dubai Cares, said: "The people of Gaza are facing severe food insecurity and shelter shortages amidst an ongoing conflict that has claimed thousands of lives and displaced more than 1.9 million people. As part of the UAE's humanitarian efforts to provide urgent assistance to the Palestinian people, Dubai Cares has launched the ‘Gaza In Our Hearts’ campaign through which we aim to provide a platform for the UAE community to come together and provide tangible and urgent support. These donations will contribute towards the provision of hot meals, food baskets and shelter tents for the people of Gaza. To ensure the rapid and effective supply of emergency relief, we have teamed up with our long-standing partner, ANERA, who is working closely with the United Nations, and diplomatic and non-governmental organization partners to open aid corridors to enable it to urgently deliver life-saving aid.”

“In addition, we would like to commend the role of the Palestinian Business Council in Dubai and Northern Emirates and other supporting entities. We invite all community members in the UAE to join us in this campaign to provide urgent relief to the Palestinian people,” added Dr. Al Gurg.

On his part, Malek Melhem, Chairman of the Palestinian Business Council in Dubai and Northern Emirates, said: “Our support to ‘Gaza In Our Hearts’ campaign stems from the PBC’s commitment towards Palestine in general and Gaza in particular. It comes in response to the call of humanitarian duty that everyone must fulfill by providing the necessary support to alleviate the suffering of the people of Gaza in these difficult and exceptional times.”

He added: “We would like to take this opportunity to commend Dubai Cares for launching this campaign, which provides a platform for the UAE community members to show their growing empathy towards their Palestinian brothers and sisters. The campaign reflects the spirit of solidarity and synergy that has been instilled in the UAE community by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. We are confident that the campaign will play a critical role in supporting the people of Gaza and will contribute towards providing the necessary assistance to those in need and alleviate their suffering, albeit temporarily and marginally.”