The Japan Times - Israel air drops humanitarian aid packages into Gaza

Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on March 2 after ceasefire talks broke down. In late May, it began allowing a small trickle of aid to resume.

Before Israel announced the delivery of seven aid packages, the United Arab Emirates had said it would restart aid drops and Britain said it would work with partners including Jordan to assist them.

The decision to loosen the flow of aid came as the Palestinian civil defence agency said over 50 more Palestinians had been killed in Israeli strikes and shootings, some as they waited near aid distribution centres.

The same day, Israeli troops boarded a boat carrying activists from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition as it attempted to approach Gaza from the sea and deliver a small quantity of supplies to the aid-starved population.

The humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory has gravely deteriorated in recent days, with international NGOs warning of soaring malnutrition among children.

On Telegram, the Israeli military announced it "carried out an airdrop of humanitarian aid as part of the ongoing efforts to allow and facilitate the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip".

Earlier, Israel said humanitarian corridors for UN aid convoys to deliver "food and medicine" would also be designated.

This would improve the humanitarian situation, and disprove "the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip", it added.

Israel's foreign ministry posted on X that a "humanitarian pause" would apply to certain parts of Gaza on Sunday morning to facilitate the aid deliveries.

Humanitarian chiefs are deeply sceptical that air drops can deliver enough food to tackle the deepening hunger crisis facing Gaza's more than two million inhabitants. They are instead demanding that Israel allow more overland convoys.

But British Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the idea, vowing to work with Jordan to restart air drops.

Starmer's office said that in a call with his French and German counterparts the "prime minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to airdrop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance".

The United Arab Emirates said it would resume air drops "immediately".

"The humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached a critical and unprecedented level," Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a post on X. "Air drops are resuming once more, immediately."

- 'Starving civilians' -

A number of Western and Arab governments carried out air drops in Gaza in 2024, when aid deliveries by land also faced Israeli restrictions, but many in the humanitarian community consider them ineffective.

"Air drops will not reverse the deepening starvation," said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. "They are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians."

Israel's military insists it does not limit the number of trucks going into the Gaza Strip, and alleges that UN agencies and relief groups are not collecting the aid once it is inside the territory.

But humanitarian organisations accuse the Israeli army of imposing excessive restrictions, while tightly controlling road access within Gaza.

A separate aid operation is under way through the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but it has faced fierce international criticism after Israeli fire killed hundreds of Palestinians near distribution points.

- Naval blockade -

On Saturday evening, the live feed on the Handala boat belonging to pro-Palestinian activist group Freedom Flotilla showed Israeli troops boarding the vessel.

The soldiers moved in as the boat approached Gaza and three video livefeeds of the scene broadcasting online were cut minutes later.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli fire killed over 50 people on Saturday, including 14 killed in separate incidents near aid distribution centres.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties.

Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

The Israeli campaign has killed 59,733 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

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M.Matsumoto--JT