The UK today dropped more aid into Gaza – bringing the total amount parachuted in to more than 100 tonnes.
Twelve tonnes of ready meals, water, rice, tinned goods and flour were dropped along the northern Gaza coast on pallets attached to parachutes by RAF and British Army personnel from A400M transport aircraft.
It is the 11th airdrop since the UK reached a deal with Jordan that allows it to send aid by air to Gaza via Royal Air Force planes for the first time in late March.
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Prior to this, UK aid had been dropped by Jordanian planes after deliveries to northern Gaza by land and sea turned into a struggle due to violence and chaos.
The United Nations (UN) states that northern Gaza is already in a state of “total famine”.
The UK has already dropped more than 100 tonnes of aerial aid on Gaza since Israel-Hamas the war began on October 7th.
He says drop zones are regularly inspected by personnel to ensure civilians are not harmed when aid lands after flying an hour from Amman, Jordan.
Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said the UK’s commitment to delivering large amounts of aid to Gaza is “unwavering” and shows “where our focus is in the coming weeks and months”.
“We continue to pressure Israel to fully open the port of Ashdod, as well as for more land crossings,” he said.
Defense Secretary Grant Shapps says getting aid to Gaza is a key priority for the UK. Photo: PA
Shapps also mentioned last month’s deployment of the RFA support ship Cardigan Bay to the Eastern Mediterranean, which is providing housing for hundreds of American soldiers and sailors building a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza to facilitate the delivery of aid.
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said the delivery of aid by air was essential, but the full amount of aid needed could only be delivered to Gaza by land.
“We continue to pressure Israel to fully open the port of Ashdod, as well as more land crossings,” he said.
Food supplies have been airdropped by the UK Armed Forces into northern Gaza since the end of March. Photo: Corporal Tim Laurence RAF/MOD
Although Israel said it reopened the main entry point of Kerem Shalom in southern Gaza on Wednesday, the UN said no aid has entered Gaza and there is no one to receive it on the Palestinian side due to fighting in course.
Once the temporary pier is built, it is expected to be able to facilitate the delivery of 90 aid trucks to Gaza and 150 when fully operational.
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The Rafah crossing, between Gaza and Egypt, has been closed since the Israeli military took control of the Palestinian side on Tuesday morning as part of a broader offensive targeting Hamas in the southernmost parts of Gaza.
Aid officials said the flow of aid had been disrupted, despite it being one of the main supply routes in the effort to prevent famine.
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The Israeli military took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing. Photo: Reuters
The war in Gaza expelled around 80% of the territory’s population of 2.3 million people from their homes and caused major destruction to buildings in several cities.
More than 34,900 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the conflict, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
The war began on October 7, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping around 250 others.
Israel says around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 people are still held by militants.
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