UPDATE - Belgium to airdrop food aid on Gaza as human suffering Gaza 'unmatched'

ADDS MORE DETAILS

By Ahmet Gencturk and Aysu Bicer

ATHENS/LONDON (AA) — Belgium on Friday morning reiterated the need of an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, where death toll from Israeli attacks has topped 30,000.

"Humanitarian access to Gaza is insufficient. Together with Jordan, we're planning a humanitarian airdrop with food and essential goods," Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said on X after speaking to his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi on the phone.​​​​​​​

Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder also stated on X that the defense ministry would undertake the operation, mentioning that a reconnaissance team is already in Jordan for practical preparations.

Dedonder further explained that the Belgian Rapid Response Team (B-FAST) would send supplies via an A400M military transport aircraft on March 4, with humanitarian aid being delivered as soon as possible.

"Human suffering Gaza is unmatched; 10,000s dead, more than million people fleeing, famine. Humanitarian aid is blocked or comes under fire. We will not stand by and watch. Belgium will air-drop humanitarian aid for Gaza population," said Development Cooperation Minister Caroline Gennez on X.

Israel has launched a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

At least 30,035 Palestinians have since been killed and 70,457 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’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.