Belgium to conduct airdrops over Gaza with 600,000 euros worth of supplies
Belgium is preparing to carry out further airdrops over Gaza. A Defence cargo plane will depart with 600,000 euros worth of food and medical supplies, Foreign minister Maxime Prévot and Defence minister Theo Francken announced on Wednesday. Similar drops were conducted earlier this year.
Earlier in the day, prime minister Bart De Wever announced that Jordan had approved a Belgian contribution to help ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The airdrops will depart from airports in Jordan. Meanwhile, the government continues to press Israel to allow aid trucks into the territory.
"Together with our European partners, we continue to exert pressure to ensure that humanitarian aid can be organized safely and accessibly," De Wever posted on X. "If this does not succeed, we do not rule out further measures or sanctions."
While the fight against Hamas - "a terrorist group that still holds hostages and wantonly victimises Palestinian civilians- is legitimate, he said, "Israel is a Western democracy and must be called to order as such: the suffering of innocent civilians must stop."
A Defence reconnaissance team is on site to determine when the Defence A400M can depart. The first airdrops will be made with supplies already in Jordan.
According to Prévot, the drops are only a first gesture. "They must not, under any circumstances, distract from the urgent need for land access, which, for reasons of security, efficiency and capacity, remains the absolute priority for transporting the thousands of tons of food blocked at the border," he said.
"I will continue to urge the Israeli authorities to ensure the fastest possible delivery of these goods by road to Gaza."
Palestinians carry humanitarian aid received through the Zikim crossing as they return to their families near the Al-Sudaniya area in northern Gaza, Palestine © PHOTO RAMEZ HABBOUB / ABACAPRESS.COM
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