British efforts to airdrop aid to Gaza, UNRWA considers it a “distraction”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer held talks on Saturday with his French and German counterparts, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz, and outlined Britain’s plans to airdrop food aid to Gaza and evacuate sick and injured children.

During a phone call, Starmer, Macron, and Merz discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and all agreed that it was “horrific.”

According to a statement issued by his office, Starmer outlined how Britain would move forward with its plans to cooperate with partners like Jordan to airdrop food aid and evacuate children in need of medical care.

The statement added that the three leaders agreed on the need to develop robust plans to transform the urgently needed ceasefire into a lasting peace. They also discussed their intention to work closely together on a plan that would pave the way for a long-term solution that achieves security in the region. They agreed that once this plan is formulated, they will seek to cooperate with other stakeholders—including those from within the region—to advance it.

These talks come a day after UN Secretary-General António Guterres sharply criticized the international community for ignoring the widespread famine in the Gaza Strip, describing it as a “moral crisis that challenges the global conscience.”

Relief organizations have also warned of a rising number of children suffering from severe malnutrition in the Gaza Strip, which Israel has tightened its blockade on and prevented the entry of aid into since last March.

distraction

On the other hand, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, considered the proposal to airdrop aid to Gaza a mere distraction and smokescreen to cover up the reality of the humanitarian catastrophe, and that it could cost the lives of starving civilians.

This came in response to a Western news agency’s claim that Israel would allow Western countries to airdrop aid to Gaza for two days starting Friday. However, no actual airdrops of aid have been reported to date.

“Air deliveries will not address the worsening hunger situation in Gaza. They are costly and ineffective, and could even kill hungry civilians,” Lazzarini tweeted.

“Bringing aid in by land is easier, faster, cheaper, more efficient, safer, and more dignified for the people of Gaza,” Lazzarini added.

The UN official stressed that “man-made hunger can only be addressed through political will,” calling for the lifting of the Israeli blockade, the opening of crossings, and ensuring freedom of movement and dignified access for aid to those in need, as he put it.

He pointed out that UNRWA has the equivalent of 6,000 aid trucks stuck in Jordan and Egypt, just waiting for the green light to enter Gaza.

Deaths and injuries have occurred as a result of airdrops of aid sent by countries to Gaza, during Israel’s ongoing war of extermination in the Strip, now in its 22nd month.

Since March 2, Israel has evaded further implementation of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). It has closed Gaza’s crossings to aid trucks stacked on the border, and has imposed a siege on Gaza for 18 years. Some 1.5 million Palestinians, out of a population of approximately 2.2 million in the Strip, have been rendered homeless after their homes were destroyed in the war of extermination.

It’s worth noting that UN organizations and local institutions in Gaza warn that the continued blockade and Israel’s denial of aid threaten to lead to mass child deaths, amid deteriorating health and living conditions and the complete collapse of the medical system.