Jordan has dropped food and aid supplies into Gaza at least 16 times in recent months. Other countries have recently joined. The Americans carried out their first landing on Sunday.
Jordan and the United States each used three aircraft for this purpose. Jordan reported that France and Egypt sent one plane each. Relief supplies were provided by the United Nations World Food Programme.
The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that the number of children suffering from malnutrition in the northern Gaza Strip is very high. In January, one in six children under the age of two suffered from acute malnutrition.
“That was in January, so the situation is probably more serious now,” WHO representative Richard Pepperkorn said. According to the United Nations children's rights organisation, UNICEF, the number of malnourished children under the age of five in the northern Gaza Strip is three times their number in the south.
Belgium also sent a plane to Jordan, but it has not made any drops yet. The Airbus A400M will not be deployed until Wednesday at the earliest. The time depends on the situation in Gaza.
The Netherlands carried out the first aid drop into Gaza last February, in cooperation with Jordan. This happened with Israel's approval.
