Israel said Saturday, July 26, it would allow food to be airdropped to Gaza and designate humanitarian corridors for UN aid convoys, as thousands of Palestinians face the threat of widespread famine. Before Israel announced that the flights would resume, the United Arab Emirates had said it would restart aid drops and Britain said it would work with partners including Jordan to assist them. The decision to loosen up the flow of aid came as the Palestinian civil defense agency said over 50 more Palestinians had been killed in Israeli strikes and shootings Saturday, some as they waited near aid distribution centers.
Later Saturday, Israel troops boarded a boat carrying pro-Palestinian activists from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition as it attempted to approach Gaza from the sea, in defiance of an Israeli naval blockade.
"The humanitarian airdrop operation will be conducted in coordination with international aid organizations and the (Israeli army), led by COGAT and the IAF," the Israeli statement said, referring to the civilian affairs unit for Palestinian territories and the air force. "In addition, it was decided that designated humanitarian corridors would be established to enable the safe movement of UN convoys delivering food and medicine to the population."
The statement also noted this would improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza and disprove "the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip."
Humanitarian chiefs are deeply skeptical that airdrops can deliver enough food to tackle the deepening hunger crisis facing Gaza's more than two million inhabitants. They are instead demanding that Israel allow more overland convoys. But British Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the idea, vowing to work with Jordan to restart airdrops. An Israeli official had told AFP on Friday that airdrops in Gaza would resume soon and that they would be conducted by the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
Starmer's office said that in a call with his French and German counterparts, the "prime minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to airdrop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance."
The United Arab Emirates said it would resume airdrops "immediately."
"The humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached a critical and unprecedented level," Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a post on X. "Air drops are resuming once more, immediately."
A number of Western and Arab governments carried out air drops in Gaza in 2024, when aid deliveries by land also faced Israeli restrictions, but many in the humanitarian community consider them ineffective.
"Airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation," said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. "They are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians."
Israel imposed a total blockade on the entry of aid into Gaza on March 2 after talks to extend a ceasefire in the over 21-month-old conflict broke down. In late May, it began letting a trickle of aid enter.
Israel's military insists it does not limit the number of trucks going into the Gaza Strip, and alleges that UN agencies and relief groups are not collecting the aid once it is inside the territory. But humanitarian organizations accuse the Israeli army of imposing excessive restrictions, while tightly controlling road access within Gaza.
A separate aid operation is under way through the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but it has faced fierce international criticism after Israeli fire killed hundreds of Palestinians near distribution points.
On Saturday evening, the live feed on the Handala – an aid boat belonging to pro-Palestinian activist group Freedom Flotilla – showed Israeli troops boarding the vessel. The soldiers moved in as the boat approached Gaza and three video livefeeds of the scene broadcasting online were cut minutes later. Israeli forces last month intercepted and boarded another boat run by the same group, the Madleen.
Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli fire killed over 50 people on Saturday, including 14 killed in separate incidents near aid distribution centers.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.
Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The Israeli campaign has killed 59,733 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.