The government media office in Gaza reports that 18 Palestinians lost their lives while attempting to collect urgently needed aid, which had been airdropped over northern Gaza. According to the statement, twelve individuals drowned while retrieving food packages from the sea, while the remaining six were trampled to death in stampedes when aid parcels landed on the ground.
In response, the government office vehemently denounces the airdrops, labeling them as “offensive, wrong, inappropriate, and useless,” and calls for their immediate cessation. Video footage obtained by Reuters depicts Palestinians rushing to the coast following the aid drop near the northern town of Beit Lahia, showing a chaotic scene as numerous aid packages attached to parachutes descend near the shoreline.
Israel, facing pressure to increase aid access to Gaza via land routes, confirms facilitating the airdrop of 159 one-tonne aid packages over northern Gaza. The United States announces that two C-17 aircraft dropped 46,000 “meals ready to eat” (MREs) over the area, while the UK confirms its A400M aircraft dropped 10 tonnes of essential supplies, including water, rice, cooking oil, flour, tinned goods, and baby formula.
Despite these efforts, humanitarian organizations caution that airdrops alone cannot adequately address the escalating food shortages in Gaza, sparking significant debate over the efficacy of such strategies.
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