Gaza has received 20,000 doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine from the United Arab Emirates, a move secured by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s rival, Mohammad Dahlan, who is based in the Gulf state.

Gaza health officials said they would begin vaccination on Monday, with priority for medical workers and those with chronic diseases. Many patients were contacted in advance and asked to give their consent.

“The shipment is a generous offer from the brotherly UAE,” Dahlan, long considered a potential Abbas successor, said on Facebook. “We promise our people that we will exert every possible effort to secure more.”