Planes airdrop humanitarian aid in Gaza amid Israeli onslaught

By Anadolu staff

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Planes airdropped shipments of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Monday amid an Israeli offensive on the enclave, according to witnesses.

The aid supplies were airlifted to the cities of Deir al-Balah and Rafah in the central and southern Gaza Strip, witnesses said.

The nationality of the planes was not yet clear.

No aid shipments were dropped in the northern Gaza Strip, witnesses said.

Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, leaving thousands of Palestinians struggling with starvation.

Nearly 29,800 Palestinians have been killed and over 70,000 others injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since Oct. 7 amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar