Israel’s military announced new humanitarian aid delivery measures to refute claims of a deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military on July 26 announced new actions to expand humanitarian assistance to the embattled Gaza Strip, amid concerns of a growing famine.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that, beginning on Saturday night, they would resume airdrops of humanitarian supplies to the territory, in hopes of expanding aid delivery channels.
“In accordance with directives from the political echelon and following a situational assessment held this evening, the IDF has begun a series of actions aimed at improving the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip, and to refute the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip,” the IDF said in a Saturday press statement.
Earlier this week, more than 100 international aid organizations, including Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam, signed onto a statement raising concerns about growing starvation in Gaza and the risk of aid seekers being gunned down as they throng the few functioning aid distribution sites within the territory. The aid organizations called for an immediate cease-fire, and the opening of all land crossings into the Gaza Strip for the full flow of humanitarian supplies to the territory.
Israel’s military indicated an initial airdrop would consist of seven pallets containing flour, sugar, and canned food, which will then be distributed by international organizations.
In addition to the new airdrops, the Israeli military said it would establish designated corridors for United Nations humanitarian aid convoys to travel overland, bringing food and medicine into Gaza. Israel’s military said it worked in conjunction with Israeli government authorities and the Israel Electric Corporation to begin supplying power to a desalination plant in Gaza, which could supply around 20,000 cubic meters of water daily—enough to serve about 900,000 of Gaza’s approximately 2 million people.
The Israeli military said it’s also taking steps to facilitate the distribution of hundreds of truckloads of aid that have piled up but have yet to make it to the people of the Gaza Strip.
In recent days, Israeli military officials have rebuffed the U.N.’s criticisms about the humanitarian conditions in the territory and blamed the U.N. and other international organizations for not collecting and distributing the aid themselves.
By Ryan Morgan
