Concern has escalated in the past week about hunger in the Gaza Strip after more than 21 months of war that started after Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack against Israel in October 2023.”France will carry out air drops in the coming days to meet the most essential and urgent needs of the civilian population in Gaza,” the source said, adding the “greatest care” would be taken to protect Gazans during the operations.
But the airborne operations were not intended as substitutes for more efficient deliveries by road, the source added, urging “the immediate opening by Israel of land crossing points”.
“France is also working on deliveries by land, by far the most effective solution to enable the massive and unhindered delivery of humanitarian goods that the population desperately needs,” the source said.
Aid groups have warned that “mass starvation” is spreading among the territory’s more than two million residents.
Israel has in recent days allowed more aid trucks into the Gaza Strip but aid agencies say Israeli authorities could still do more to speed security checks and open more border posts.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday that Germany would work with Jordan to airlift humanitarian aid to Gaza, coordinating this “very closely with France and the United Kingdom”.
