Israel finally allows aid airdrops amid growing starvation in Gaza

As the hunger crisis deepens across Gaza, causing widespread malnutrition and fatalities, Israeli authorities have finally agreed to allow humanitarian aid to be airdropped into the conflict-ravaged Gaza Strip, amid growing international pressure over the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the region.

On Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that airdrops of humanitarian aid into Gaza would resume later in the night. On the same day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a temporary pause in military operations in Gaza for Sunday, according to Israeli media outlets.

Shortly after, airdrops resumed in various northern Gaza locations on Saturday evening, according to Palestinian sources and eyewitnesses.

The IDF stated that the airdrops would deliver seven pallets of aid, including flour, sugar, and canned food, provided by international organizations. The IDF also unveiled plans to establish designated humanitarian corridors to facilitate the safe movement of United Nations convoys within Gaza.

However, both the UN and aid groups have repeatedly stated that airdrops alone will not provide sufficient supplies to Gaza, with falling crates potentially causing injury and chaos on the ground.

Furthermore, the head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency has warned that Israeli efforts are merely "a distraction," and will fail to adequately address the growing starvation crisis.

According to a Xinhua report, one of the aid parcels, which landed on a tent sheltering displaced people in northern Gaza on Saturday, caused injuries to several individuals.

International efforts

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that it would immediately resume airdrops of humanitarian aid into Gaza. UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in a post on social media platform X, stated that the UAE's relief efforts would continue "by land, air, and sea" to meet the urgent needs of Gaza's most affected populations.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed that the UK was working with Jordan to coordinate airlifts of aid into Gaza. A small team of British military planners and logisticians is to assist Jordan with logistics for delivering aid into the territory.

Starmer also mentioned that the UK was "urgently accelerating efforts" to evacuate children in need of critical medical care to the UK for treatment.

On Friday, Starmer wrote on X, pledging that his government would "pull every lever" to deliver food and life-saving support to Palestinians, stressing "This humanitarian catastrophe must end."

The UK's efforts follow a tripartite meeting between the UK, France, and Germany on Friday, during which the leaders of the three countries called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and urged Israel to allow unrestricted humanitarian aid into the region, warning of a looming "humanitarian catastrophe."

Deepening humanitarian crisis

In the past 24 hours, hospitals in Gaza reported five new deaths from starvation and malnutrition, bringing the death toll from such causes since October 2023 to 127, including 85 children, according to Gaza-based health authorities.

In addition to the suffering of Palestinians, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has reported that doctors, nurses, journalists, and humanitarian workers, including UNRWA staff, are also enduring hunger. Some have even fainted due to exhaustion and lack of food while performing their duties, according to Juliette Touma, UNRWA's director of communications.

Meanwhile, Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UNRWA, said on social media platform X, "A man-made hunger can only be addressed by political will."

"Lift the siege, open the gates, and guarantee safe movement and dignified access to those in need," Lazzarini urged, adding that the agency currently has the equivalent of 6,000 trucks in Jordan and Egypt waiting for approval to enter Gaza.

The Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported that at least 47 Palestinians, including 17 aid seekers, were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza on Saturday.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights announced on Tuesday that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while trying to get food in the Gaza Strip since the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation started operating on May 27.

Since Israel resumed military operations in Gaza on March 18, at least 8,581 Palestinians have been killed, and 32,436 others have been injured, bringing the death toll since October 2023 to 59,733, with 144,477 injured, according to Gaza-based health authorities.

(With input from agencies)