The United Arab Emirates announced today that it plans to take in 1,000 children of Palestinian origin from Gaza without saying how they would be removed from the enclave besieged by Israel to the Gulf country.

Israel has stepped up its blockade and bombardment of Gaza for nearly four weeks in retaliation for the October 7 attack by Islamist Hamas, which according to Israeli authorities, 1,400 people have been killed.

Gaza’s health ministry says that 8,796 Palestinians, including 3,648 children, have been killed by Israeli shelling since October 7.

Gaza’s border with Egypt–the only exit point beyond the closed border crossings with Israel–has been largely closed since October 7, although several hundred foreign nationals and a small number of injured Palestinians will be treated in Egyptian hospitals. they passed into Egypt since yesterday.

Qatar brokered that deal to allow a number of people to leave Gaza, and a diplomatic source has said that around 7,500 foreign passport holders will leave Gaza in the next two weeks.

The UAE’s state news agency WAM reported that the country’s president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan called on hospitals to treat 1,000 children of Palestinian origin from Gaza “accompanied by their families”.

It is unclear whether these children and their families will be able to leave Gaza under the Qatari-brokered deal, which Israel and the US participated in.

The UAE’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to questions about its plans to provide care and hospitality to the children and their families, while the Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi declined to comment.

WAM reported that the children “will return to their homes” after their treatment.