Belgium carries out first aid airdrop over Gaza
The Belgian army carried out a first airdrop of humanitarian aid over the Gaza Strip on Thursday. Such airdrops should not become the norm, said Foreign minister Hadja Lahbib, who called for unrestricted humanitarian access.
"The first Belgian operation to drop humanitarian aid into Gaza has just taken place," said Labhib said on X. "The suffering of civilians on the ground is unbearable. Unrestricted access for humanitarian aid must be guaranteed."
The flight is part of a major airdrop operation coordinated by Jordan to provide emergency material aid to the Gaza Strip. The aircraft also dropped some of the food rations bought by Belgium, the country's foreign ministry said.
At the end of last week, the Belgian government decided to participate in the international initiative to drop food aid over the Gaza Strip. On Monday, a Belgian Army A400M aircraft took off for Jordan with 6,000 kg of food and thousands of hygiene kits.
Humanitarian access
Belgium will remain available to take part in airdrops in the coming days. Meanwhile, the country continues to call for "unrestricted humanitarian access and an immediate ceasefire".
"With its support, Belgium wants to respond to humanitarian needs. The suffering of the local population is unbearable. Famine is threatening hundreds of thousands of children," said Lahbib.
"It goes without saying that airdrops should not become the norm"
Belgium is already preparing another flight with medicines and medical equipment for the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza. "But it goes without saying that airdrops should not become the norm," Lahbib said.
"Unrestricted humanitarian access must be guaranteed as soon as possible," she said. "I will continue to press for this, as well as for an immediate ceasefire. This is the only way to end the inhuman suffering of the people of Gaza."
A number of other countries have already dropped humanitarian aid over Gaza or are preparing to do so, including Jordan, the US, France, Egypt and the Netherlands. The European Commission is also looking into the possibility of airdropping humanitarian aid.
A Jordanian military aircraft drops humanitarian aid over the southern Gaza Strip © PHOTO HANDOUT JORDANIAN ARMY / AFP
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