Spain said on Monday it would airdrop 12 tonnes of food into Gaza this week as the threat of famine stalks the Palestinian territory after 21 months of war.
The operation is a rare example of a European nation joining Middle Eastern countries in sending aid by air.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, one of the most virulent critics of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, told a news conference the delivery would take place from Jordan on Friday using Spanish air force planes.
“The famine in Gaza is a shame for all of humanity and stopping it, therefore, is a moral imperative,” he said.
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The defence ministry said the 12 tonnes would be delivered in an operation similar to another carried out in March 2024, when Spain delivered 26 tonnes of food to Gaza.
Israel’s war in Gaza for the past 21 months began in response to an unprecedented attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7th 2023.
The devastated territory’s more than two million inhabitants are suffering a humanitarian crisis.
The World Health Organization has warned malnutrition in the occupied Palestinian territory has reached “alarming levels” since Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on March 2nd.
In late May, Israel began allowing a small trickle of aid to resume but the levels reaching the strip have been far below what aid groups say is needed.
In general, humanitarian officials are deeply sceptical that airdrops can deliver enough food safely to tackle the hunger crisis.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denies his government is to blame for the dire situation and accuses the United Nations of fabricating “pretexts and lies about Israel”.
On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: “Conflict continues to spread hunger from Gaza to Sudan and beyond… We must never accept hunger as a weapon of war.”
