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Hundreds of Palestinians gathered at the Maritime Club on Gaza City’s beachfront on Friday for a mass wedding uniting 250 couples in a single ceremony, according to multiple regional reports. Brides dressed in white gowns with traditional Palestinian embroidery carried white and red bouquets while grooms wore dark suits, many draped in keffiyeh scarves. A procession of dozens of cars decorated with Palestinian flags, flowers and red ribbons travelled along the coastal road past destroyed buildings and displacement tents before reaching the venue, The National newspaper reported. Music and festivities accompanied the collective vow exchange in front of relatives and guests.
The event formed part of the third edition of the Thawb Al-Farah or Dress of Joy programme under the UAE’s Operation Gallant Knight 3 humanitarian mission. Organisers described the gathering as a celebration of love and new beginnings for couples who had postponed their marriages because of war, displacement and economic hardship. Azzam Shaath, spokesperson for Operation Gallant Knight 3, said in statements carried by several outlets that the programme targets young Palestinians unable to cover individual wedding costs. The initiative played the national anthems of both the UAE and Palestine during the ceremony.
According to the organising committee, 11,622 people applied to participate in this edition of the mass wedding. Following registration and verification, 1,335 applicants who met the required conditions including lack of steady income entered a final public lottery that selected the 250 grooms. The latest event follows an earlier mass wedding under the same initiative in December 2025 that united 54 couples in Khan Younis, Wake Up Singapore reported. Mohammed Erbi, head of the UAE’s Al-Faris Al-Shahm 3 Operations Support Committee, stated that the gathering of 500 people reflected a determination to continue living despite years of hardship.
The ceremony took place against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire in Gaza that has held since October 2025. The territory’s health ministry has put the overall death toll from the conflict that began with the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 at more than 74,640, the BBC reported. Many of the newlyweds had delayed their plans amid widespread destruction, loss of housing and severe economic pressures that made traditional weddings unaffordable for large numbers of young Gazans, The National noted. One groom told reporters the couple would begin married life in a tent after losing their home.
Mohamed Al-Sharif, a participant, told the Associated Press, “Today, after three years of suffering, war, and destruction, we have finally found a reason to rejoice. Before the war, we would have been able to get married, but the war and its consequences left us with nothing.” Another groom who lost his mother in the conflict expressed gratitude for the opportunity to complete the marriage ceremony despite difficult circumstances. Participants and families described the day as a rare moment of joy in the besieged enclave.
Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE President, said the mass wedding demonstrated that humanitarian aid should extend beyond alleviating suffering to restoring hope. Gargash added that Gaza and its people remain at the heart of the UAE’s efforts despite other global crises. Operation Gallant Knight 3 was launched in November 2023 on the instructions of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and has conducted multiple aid programmes in the territory since then.
