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Amid mounting international pressure and a worsening humanitarian crisis, Israel has announced its readiness to establish humanitarian corridors to facilitate the entry of UN convoys into Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated on Saturday that it has permitted the resumption of humanitarian aid air drops, with the initial delivery consisting of seven pallets of flour, sugar, and canned food provided by international organizations.
This announcement follows increasing calls for Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, as well as warnings of widespread starvation affecting the territory’s two million residents due to months of constrained supply.
Israel has refuted what it described as “the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip.”
The IDF indicated that it has “begun a series of actions aimed at improving the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip” and is “prepared to implement humanitarian pauses in densely populated areas.”
It also stated that it has resumed providing power to a desalination plant in Gaza, which it says would “serve about 900,000 residents.”
Reuters reported late on Saturday that Palestinian sources confirmed the resumption of air drops in northern Gaza.
Israel had previously cut off all supplies to Gaza at the beginning of March, resuming them with new restrictions in May.
Alongside the US, Israel has supported the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and permitted its operations within Gaza.
Since the GHF began operations in late May, there have been almost daily reports of Palestinians being killed while seeking aid. Witnesses have told the BBC that most were shot by Israeli forces. Israel maintains that its troops fire warning shots and has disputed the reported death tolls, accusing Hamas of inciting chaos near aid distribution points.
The UN, aid organizations, and some of Israel’s allies have attributed the escalating food crisis in Gaza to the country and have called for the unrestricted entry and delivery of aid, as the Hamas-run health ministry reports dozens of deaths due to malnutrition. On Saturday, the ministry stated that the death toll from recent days had reached 125, including 85 children.
World Health Organization (WHO) chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has characterized the crisis as “man-made mass starvation.”
The IDF stated that the responsibility for food distribution to the population in Gaza “lies with the UN and international aid organisations” and added they must “ensure that the aid does not reach Hamas.”
Israel’s recent concessions follow its acceptance of a Jordanian and UAE plan, supported by the UK, to airdrop aid into Gaza. However, aid agencies have suggested that such measures would do little to alleviate the hunger experienced by Gazans.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency, Unrwa, stated that air drops are “expensive, inefficient, and can even kill starving civilians” if not executed according to plan.
Lazzarini said his organization has “the equivalent of 6,000 trucks” in Jordan and Egypt awaiting entry into Gaza, and urged Israel to “lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need.”
The BBC spoke with several Gazans on Saturday who expressed concern that air drops could cause “serious harm.”
One man residing in the north of the strip told BBC Arabic’s Middle East Daily that the process was “unsafe” and “caused numerous tragedies” when similar relief efforts were attempted last year.
“When aid is dropped from the air, it risks landing directly on tents, potentially causing serious harm, including injury or even death,” he said.
Meanwhile, Palestinians are grappling with dehydration alongside starvation. One mother told the BBC she was “living with no food or drink, no food, no bread, not even water.”
Israel initiated a war in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, more than 59,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then.
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