The UAE-backed ceremony brought 250 Palestinian couples together in Gaza City on Nov. 6, as OCHA had reported attacks in populated areas during the preceding week.
The Maritime Club on the city’s seafront hosted the wedding, The National and Khaleej Times reported. It was organized through Operation Chivalrous Knight 3, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) aid operation.
The Emirates News Agency (WAM) described the gathering as the third wedding under its “Thobe Al Farah 3” initiative. Before the ceremony, WAM said the program would support 250 grooms and provide wedding necessities. Its announcement named the Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi Charity and Humanitarian Foundation as a major contributor.
The National reported that many couples had postponed marriage because of war, displacement and financial hardship. The outlet also described brides in gowns with bouquets and grooms in dark suits, some wearing keffiyeh scarves. It reported that Dr. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said Gaza and its people remain a focus of the UAE’s humanitarian work.
WAM said the initiative’s second wedding brought 300 couples together in Deir Al Balah in April 2026. The Associated Press separately reported that 54 couples married at a mass ceremony in Khan Younis in December 2025.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said airstrikes, shooting and shelling affected populated areas from Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, including places where displaced people were present. Separately, OCHA reported that Gaza’s Ministry of Health recorded 36 Palestinians killed and 145 injured during the same period.
WAM said Operation Chivalrous Knight 3 began on Nov. 5, 2023. By Nov. 5, 2026, it had delivered more than 136,000 tonnes of aid to Gaza, the agency said, valuing the deliveries at more than $4.16 billion. WAM said the total represented about 46% of international humanitarian assistance that had reached Gaza, and released the figures as the operation marked its third year.
