Gaza aid packages

Berlin (dpa) — In the last few hours, six countries have dropped 136 aid packages with food for residents in both northern and southern parts of the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday.

In cooperation with Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, France, Germany and Belgium conducted the air drops, which are led by Israel’s coordinating agency for the Palestinian Territories, COGAT.

The IDF, on its Telegram channel, said the drops are a continuation of the “actions aimed at improving the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip.”

Two A400M transport aircraft from the German Armed Forces, carrying 44 pallets containing food, medical supplies, and other aid weighing approximately 19 tons, were dropped over Gaza, an Air Force spokesman told dpa in Berlin.

Another drop is planned for the beginning of next week.

According to the United Nations, the Gaza Strip is on the brink of famine. Israel controls all access points to the coastal territory on the Mediterranean and, for several months, allowed no or only minimal aid deliveries to pass through.

Israel said this was intended to increase pressure on the Islamist Hamas to release the last of the hostages abducted on October 7, 2023.

Since last weekend, following growing global criticism of the dire situation faced by the Palestinian civilian population, Israel has been allowing larger deliveries via land routes and supporting the airdrops of aid by allied nations.

Germany has been participating in the operation since Friday with up to two aircraft, which are loaded at a military base in Jordan. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has announced that options for distributing German aid via land routes are also being explored.