Egypt, UAE continue airdropping humanitarian aid onto northern Gaza Strip

CAIRO – March 22, 2024: In collaboration with Egypt, the UAE conducted the 11th humanitarian aid and relief airdrop over the northern Gaza Strip, as announced by the UAE Joint Operations Command of the Ministry of Defense in a statement.

The airdrops targeted isolated and inaccessible areas in the northern Gaza Strip, with two planes delivering 24 tons of food and relief aid, the Command reported. With this 11th airdrop, the total aid dropped since the inception of Operation "Birds of Goodness" has reached 462 tons of food and relief aid.

Operation "Birds of Goodness" is part of "Operation Gallant Knight 3," aimed at supporting the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip.

During the holy month of Ramadan, the UAE has intensified its efforts, with aid being provided through the collective initiatives of charitable institutions in the country. These include the Emirates Red Crescent Authority, the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation for Humanitarian Works, the Zayed Bin Sultan Foundation for Charitable and Humanitarian Works, and other humanitarian and charitable organizations in the UAE.

أعلنت قيادة العمليات المشتركة في وزارة الدفاع عن تنفيذ عملية الإسقاط الجوي الحادي عشر للمساعدات الإنسانية والإغاثية على شمال قطاع غزة، بواسطة أطقم مشتركة تابعة للقوات الجوية لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة والقوات الجوية لجمهورية مصر العربية الشقيقة.

وجرت عمليات الاسقاط فوق… pic.twitter.com/lAjJSN52c7

— وزارة الدفاع |MOD UAE (@modgovae) March 22, 2024

Meanwhile, El Arish International Airport received two aid aircraft on Friday, dispatched to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Egypt’s state-owned news agency MENa reported.

The first aircraft arrived from the UAE, carrying 20 tons of food, relief items, and medical aid, MENA reported a source at El Arish airport.

The second aircraft, originating from Russia, delivered 29 tons of relief and food supplies, the same source confirmed.

The Egyptian Red Crescent announced, on March 19, 2024, the entry of 72 trucks carrying humanitarian aid and fuel to Gaza Strip through Rafah Border Crossing.

The entity contributed by a truck of gasoline; three trucks of diesel; four trucks of cooking gas; truck of medical aid; 10 trucks of food; two trucks of tents; three trucks of mattresses; four trucks of coverlets; four trucks of flour; and truck of toys.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip and imposed a complete blockade on it amid its ongoing bombings against the Strip, where so far over 32,000 people, mostly children and women, have been killed. Additionally, more than 700,000 Palestinians are suffering from acute starvation and malnutrition caused by the Israeli besiege despite the little humanitarian aid that has hardly been delivered to the strip.

James Elder, spokesman for UNICEF, urged, the world on Tuesday for the passage of humanitarian aid in front of the Rafah crossing, saying that “these are the supplies that are urgently need to get across into the civilians of Gaza to save the children”.

“Heading back into Gaza now. Outrageous. How many lifesaving supplies are so desperately close to those who need them?” Elder said in a video he posted on his x account talking in front of Rafah crossing while hundreds of aid trucks behind him waiting to cross to Gaza.

He added that these lifesaving supplies are waiting, “because we know just across there over the borders children have died of malnutrition and dehydration.”