Israel has announced that foreign countries can begin parachuting humanitarian aid into Gaza from today, as the besieged territory faces an unprecedented starvation crisis with more than 1,000 Palestinians reportedly killed whilst seeking food assistance since May.
A senior Israel Defence Forces (IDF) official confirmed to Sky News on Friday: “Starting today, Israel will allow foreign countries to parachute aid into Gaza. Starting this afternoon, the WCK organisation began reactivating its kitchens.”
The announcement marks a potential resumption of operations for World Central Kitchen (WCK), the humanitarian organisation founded by celebrity chef José Andrés, which paused its work in Gaza in November after Israeli airstrikes killed three of its workers in Khan Younis.
Aid Distribution Turns Deadly
The decision comes amid mounting international condemnation over what Western nations describe as Israel’s “drip feeding” of aid into Gaza, where the UN reports that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed trying to receive food aid since late May.
According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 1,054 people have died seeking humanitarian assistance between May and July, with 766 killed near sites operated by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – a US and Israeli-backed organisation that began operations on 27 May.
The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths,” stated a joint declaration from 25 Western foreign ministers on Monday, including those from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Japan and the United Kingdom. “The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity.”
World Central Kitchen’s Troubled History
WCK’s operations in Gaza have been repeatedly disrupted by Israeli military action. In April 2024, seven of the charity’s workers – including British, Australian, Polish and North American nationals – were killed when Israeli drones targeted their three-car convoy in what Israel later acknowledged was an “unintended strike.
The organisation paused operations again in November 2024 after an Israeli airstrike killed at least three WCK employees in Khan Younis. Israel claimed it was targeting a militant who had participated in the 7 October attacks and alleged the individual worked for WCK, though the charity said it had no knowledge of any such connections.
Since the beginning of the conflict in October 2023, the UN reports that 333 aid workers have been killed, including 243 employees of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
Controversial Aid System
The Gaza humanitarian Foundation, which began distributing aid after Israel eased its 11-week blockade in May, has faced fierce criticism from the UN and established humanitarian groups. The organisation operates four distribution hubs in central and southern Gaza, secured by private US military contractors.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher described the GHF system as creating “engineered scarcity,” whilst former GHF director Jake Wood resigned on 25 May – just before operations began – stating the organisation could not adhere to “humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.”
Palestinian witnesses and health officials report that Israeli forces regularly fire toward crowds gathering at GHF sites. The Israeli military maintains it has only fired warning shots, whilst GHF claims its armed contractors have only fired into the air to prevent stampedes.
Airdrops: A Dangerous Alternative
Whilst Israel’s announcement allows for air drops, humanitarian organisations have long warned about their dangers and inadequacy. In March 2024, five Palestinians were killed when a parachute failed to open, causing a pallet to crash into a crowd waiting for food near Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp.
Hamas has called for an end to airdrops, with officials stating they “pose a real danger to the lives of citizens and do not provide a real solution to alleviate the food crisis plaguing northern Gaza.”
The World Food Programme noted that one week’s worth of airdrops delivers only 6 tonnes of food, compared to 200 tonnes that could be delivered by a single 14-truck convoy – if allowed through Israeli checkpoints.
Humanitarian Crisis Deepens
The Gaza Health Ministry reports that 80 children have died from starvation since the war began, with 21 adults dying from malnutrition since Sunday alone. One in five people in Gaza currently face starvation, with 93 per cent experiencing acute food shortages, according to UN assessments.
Israel has faced accusations of weaponising hunger and using the blockade to ethnically cleanse Gaza. The Council on American-Islamic Relations described the decision to allow limited aid as an effort to buy goodwill whilst Israel continues its military campaign that has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians over 21 months.
International Pressure Mounts
France’s announcement on Thursday that it will recognise Palestine as a state in September adds to growing international pressure on Israel. President Emmanuel Macron stated that “the urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the humanitarian situation, stating Israel’s goal is to “take control of all” of Gaza. Far-right members of his coalition, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, criticised even the limited aid decision as a “grave mistake.”
As foreign aircraft prepare to drop aid into the besieged territory, humanitarian workers stress that airdrops and sea routes cannot deliver aid in quantities needed to avert acute food shortages for Gaza’s 2.4 million people. They continue to call for Israel to allow full humanitarian access through land crossings – the only viable method to prevent mass starvation.
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Image Credit:
Israeli soldiers – Image by Israel Defense Forces, licensed under CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
