GAZA Strip – The World Health Organization (who) has warned malnutrition has reached “alarming levels” in Gaza with rates on a “dangerous trajectory”, as aid airdrops resumed in the Strip.
Jordan said it had worked with the United Arab Emirates and dropped 25 tonnes of aid into Gaza on Sunday after Israel began what it called a “tactical pause” in fighting.
Israel had said it would halt military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and allow aid corridors for UN convoys, to “refute the false claim of intentional starvation”. Hamas accused it of “whitewashing its image”.
United Nations (UN) aid chief Tom Fletcher confirmed on Sunday that some movement restrictions appeared to have been eased by Israel.
In a statement, reported by the Reuters news agency, Fletcher said that initial reports indicated that more than 100 truckloads of aid were collected from crossings to be transported into Gaza.
“This is progress,” he said, “but vast amounts of aid are needed to stave off famine and a catastrophic health crisis.”
On Sunday, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had airdropped seven packages of aid consisting of flour, sugar and canned food.
Meanwhile, medics reported nine killed and 54 injured by Israeli fire near an aid convoy route in central Gaza. An airstrike also hit a residential block an hour after a pause came into effect on Saturday.
Local sources told the BBC that nine people were shot in the Netzarim Corridor along Salah al-Din Street in central Gaza, where scores of civilians had gathered in anticipation of UN aid convoys.
The IDF said its troops “fired warning shots” at a “gathering of suspects” approaching them. It said it was not aware of any casualties.
Meanwhile, BBC Verify geolocated an airstrike at Midhat Al-Wahidy Street in Al-Rimal district of western Gaza City – which Israel had designated an hour earlier as an area where operations would cease.
The verification was based on witness reports and two geolocated videos published on Sunday. The IDF said it was not aware of a strike upon checking the coordinates.
Aid agencies have warned that letting in limited quantities of aid will lead to chaotic scenes between desperate people. (
The UN’s World Food Programme has said a third of Gaza’s two million population do not eat for several days at a time, and every one in four is “enduring famine-like conditions”.
More than 100 people died from malnutrition over recent days, the Hamas-run health ministry said.
Hundreds have been killed by gunfire, according to the ministry, as they attempted to get food from distribution points run by the Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Israel has denied targeting civilians.
US President Donald Trump said he would send more aid to Gaza, but added this was “an international problem – it’s not a US problem”.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “Whilst air drops will help to alleviate the worst of the suffering, land routes serve as the only viable and sustainable means of providing aid into Gaza.” (BBC)
