Israel announces humanitarian aid airdrops in Gaza as UN warns of starvation

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it will resume airdrops of aid to Gaza Saturday night while disputing claims of deliberate starvation as the hunger crisis escalates amid its ongoing campaign against Hamas. 

The IDF said in a statement Saturday the airdrop operation will be conducted in coordination with international aid organizations, Israel’s Coordination for Government Activities in the Territories and the Israeli Air Force. 

“The airdrops will include seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food to be provided by international organizations,” the IDF said in a statement. 

Designated humanitarian corridors will also be established “to enable the safe movement of U.N. convoys delivering food and medicine to the population,” according to the IDF. 

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“The IDF is prepared to implement humanitarian pauses in densely populated areas and will continue to operate to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and eliminate terrorists in the areas of activity,” the IDF said. “This week alone, over 250 aid trucks were unloaded, joining hundreds of trucks waiting at the crossings to be collected by the U.N. and international organizations.”

Approximately 600 trucks of aid have also been distributed by the U.N. and other international organizations, Israel said.    

Israel has also connected its power line to Gaza’s desalination plant. 

“This is expected to supply approximately 20,000 cubic meters of water per day, up from the 2,000 cubic meters supplied until now, to serve about 900,000 residents in the area,” according to the IDF. 

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The IDF said the reports about starvation in Gaza were a false campaign promoted by Hamas, but hunger is spreading across the region after the United Nations and the IDF previously failed to reach an agreement about aid distribution, Fox News’ Trey Yingst reported. 

Price gouging and disagreements about how to get aid to citizens are making the crisis worse.

The U.N. is warning of increased malnutrition and starvation in the area. 

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called the situation in Gaza a “horror show” this week “with a level of death and destruction without parallel in recent times.” 

“Responsibility for food distribution to the population in Gaza lies with the U.N. and international aid organizations,” the IDF said. “Therefore, the U.N. and international organizations are expected to improve the effectiveness of aid distribution and to ensure that the aid does not reach Hamas.”

The U.S. State Department this week addressed expanding Israeli strikes in Gaza, saying the Trump administration is focused on negotiating a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. 

“Our focus has been to stop that war, to stop the fighting, to have a ceasefire,” spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said this week. “It is at the top of our mind as we work still to stop this carnage.”