Aid agency leaders warned that attention to the air was “eccentric distraction” and would not reverse the territory’s deepening hunger crisis.
Israeli troops said it would allow the delivery of aid to Gaza on Saturday night, while also declared a humanitarian corridor for UN aid convoys.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan are expected to make air landings in the coming days, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying the UK government is imposing “everything we can” to get aid to Gaza through air landing.
Ciarán Donnelly of the International Rescue Commission said the decline in aid may “never provide the quantity or quality of the aid needed”.
More than 100 international aid and human rights groups warn of mass hunger in the area.
Hamas – The Gaza Health Ministry, which operates, reported five deaths due to malnutrition on Saturday, bringing the total to 127 since the war began. This number includes 85 children.
The World Food Program warns that one-third of Gaza people do not eat for a few days at a time, while 90,000 women and children are desperate to receive “artificial mass hunger.”
The debate on air drops was largely due to the failure of aid to enter Gaza through the traditional land route.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Palestine Refugee Service, said earlier Saturday that if they had problems, the fall in the air was “expensive, inefficient and could even kill hungry civilians”.
Lazalini said his organization owns “the equivalent of 6,000 trucks” in Jordan and Egypt, waiting for the “green light” to enter Gaza.
He said political will must “lift the siege, open the doors and ensure safe actions, and respect those in need.”
“Aid through aid is much easier, more efficient, faster, cheaper and safer. It is more solemn for the people of Gaza.”
His comments came before Israel announced that it would identify the so-called “security movement of designated humanitarian corridors to enable the United Nations to provide safety convoys with food and medicine”. It does not outline where they are or how they work.
Israel insists there is no limit on aid entering Gaza, and a government spokesman has previously recommended that the United Nations cooperate with Hamas to undermine the aid distribution.
The United Nations rejected this and said Israel is hindering its ability to collect aid within Gaza through bureaucratic obstacles.
Hamas denied that it had been stealing aid from the collection point. A recent U.S.A.D. report said there was no evidence of systematic robbery.
This is not the first time that the Western and Arab governments have tried to aid Gaza from air.
Last year, the RAF provided 110 tons of aid in 10 sets as part of the Jordan-led International Air Force Alliance.
However, these numbers are almost useless to alleviate the risk of mass hunger in Gaza.
A BBC analysis found that providing enough food for each of Gaza’s 2 million residents would require about 160 aircraft.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) figures last year how about 12,650 meals per plane per trip.
That would mean more than 160 flights are needed to provide a meal for Gaza’s approximately 2.1 million people.
Jordan is believed to have about 10 C-130s and the UAE has another eight.
Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health says 85 children have died of malnutrition since the beginning of the war [Reuters]
Several aid groups warn of the danger of putting thousands of tons of food into the densely populated Gaza Strip.
Shaina Low of the Norwegian Refugee Commission said people were “drowned” when they tried to collect aid that was blown into the Mediterranean, and the box “crumbled people” when they fell from the sky.
She said that even if the drop succeeds, “that’s chaos.” “People are fighting for aid. People are hurt.”
Inside Gaza, people are filled with fear of risks. The BBC spoke with several Gaza people on Saturday, who feared that the fall would cause “severe harm.”
A person living in the north of Rast told the BBC that the Arabic Middle East daily process was “unsafe” and “caused many tragedies.”
“When aid falls from the air, it can land directly on the tent, which can cause serious injuries, including injuries and even death,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Palestinians are fighting hunger. A mother told the BBC that she had “no food or drink, no food, no bread, and even no water.”
“We long for water,” she said.
Israel launched a war on the attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and another 251 were taken hostage.
More than 59,000 people above Gaza have since been killed, according to Hamas-operated Health Ministry.
Israel imposed a blockade on aid delivery in early March and resumed its military offensive against Hamas two weeks later, shutting down a two-month ceasefire. It said it hopes to put pressure on the group to release its remaining Israeli hostages.
Although lockdowns have partially eased nearly two months later, food, medicine and fuel shortages have worsened, despite warnings of looming famine by experts around the world.
Most of Gaza’s population has been displaced several times, with more than 90% of homes estimated to have been damaged or damaged.
