Sunday, about 20,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik-V vaccine, provided by the UAE, arrived in the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing, according to officials and eyewitnesses.

Former Fatah lader Muhammad Dahlan, who is residing in the UAE, confirmed in a statement that the vaccines would be allocated to "medical staff."

A previous post on his Facebook account said that "a first batch of vaccines (...) is on its way to the Gaza Strip. This payment is a generous grant from the sisterly Emirates."