Belgium airdrops 15 tonnes of aid supplies into Gaza
A Belgian army aircraft dropped 15 tonnes of humanitarian supplies over the Gaza Strip on Sunday, as part of an aid operation coordinated by Jordan. At least 35 people were killed in Gaza on Saturday by Israeli bombing and gunfire, including people waiting for food aid.
The A400M aircraft departed from Melsbroek Airport in Belgium on Friday to participate in Operation Cerulean Skies 2. According to the ministry of Defence, the first humanitarian air drop has now been successfully completed.
The air drop is part of a multinational emergency aid operation for the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip, coordinated by Jordan. Since the beginning of this week, Israel has permitted a minimum level of aid to be delivered to the area, with some countries being allowed to take off from Jordan and the United Arab Emirates to drop supplies.
Small quantities
On Friday, France began air-dropping 40 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and on Saturday, Germany dropped 9.6 tonnes of aid. International organisations continue to press for aid to be delivered by land, since only small quantities can be transported by air, and air drops sometimes cause casualties on the ground.
This is the second time that the Belgian army has conducted an operation of this kind over the Gaza Strip, following the airdrop of around 164 tonnes of relief supplies in March 2024.
At least 35 killed
Israeli bombing and gunfire killed at least 35 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Saturday. Among those killed were people waiting for food aid, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. Al Jazeera reported that at least 51 people were killed in various locations in the Gaza Strip on Saturday.
"The worst-case scenario of Famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip"
Wafa reported that eight civilians were shot dead while waiting for food aid in the north of Gaza, and five people were killed at an aid post in central Gaza. The news agency reported that an entire family was killed in a bombing near Khan Younis.
Last week, the United Nations warned of "alarming levels" of malnutrition in the region. "The worst-case scenario of Famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip", announced the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the UN's food watchdog, on Tuesday.
Jordanian servicemen drop humanitarian aid over Gaza, 1 August 2025 © PHOTO MOHAMMAD ABU GHOSH/ XINHUA / ABACAPRESS.COM
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