Israel will allow humanitarian aid to be airdropped to Gaza residents from foreign countries, military radio reported.
The measure will take effect today. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, nine people have died of starvation in the past 24 hours. Also, since the start of the war, a total of 122 people, including 83 children, have died of malnutrition. Israel, which is at war with Hamas, lifted the blockade in May. However, it imposes restrictions on the ground, arguing that they are necessary to prevent aid from being diverted to militant groups.
In the first two weeks of July, the UN children's agency, UNICEF, treated 5,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition in Gaza. The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Wednesday that Gaza was suffering from a man-made famine due to the blockade of aid to the enclave.
“As of this afternoon, the World Central Kitchen (WCK) has resumed its kitchen operations,” a senior IDF official told Sky News. The organization had suspended its operations in Gaza since November 2024, following the deaths of its members in an Israeli airstrike. Air-dropped aid was used last year by countries including Jordan, the US and the UK. However, aid organizations deemed it insufficient.