CAIRO – March 7, 2024: Personnel from the Egyptian Air Forces have joined a global alliance to airdrop aid in northern Gaza from Jordan, according to a statement by the Egyptian Armed Forces’ Spokesman, Gharib Abdel Hafez, on Thursday.
The spokesman released a video showcasing the airdrop operations. He mentioned that the alliance consists of air forces from Egypt, Jordan, the United States, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
The alliance's primary objective is to airdrop tons of urgent humanitarian and relief aid to the affected areas in northern Gaza.
In the meantime, Egyptian and Emirati military transport aircraft have already airdropped “hundreds of tons” of aid to northern Gaza as part of an extended air bridge over the past few days, as stated in the announcement.
The aircraft from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates took off from El-Arish International Airport and delivered aid to northern Gaza to address the severe shortage of food and medicine caused by the ongoing crisis in the strip, added the statement.
The spokesman previously confirmed that the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza remains open for aid delivery, in line with ongoing Egyptian and global efforts to achieve peace as the holy month of Ramadan approaches.
Fifth day of Cairo talks
With Ramadan just a few days away, mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and the United States have been engaged in discussions to negotiate the terms of a potential ceasefire in Gaza, aiming to end nearly five months of aggression.
The mediators are urging for an immediate ceasefire to facilitate increased aid delivery to the war-torn Gaza Strip and enable a prisoner swap deal.
The proposed deal is expected to halt the fighting for at least six weeks and facilitate the release of around 100 captives held by Hamas in Gaza, in exchange for the freedom of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Ceasefire talks have been ongoing in Cairo since Sunday with the participation of senior negotiators from Egypt, Qatar, and the US, as well as envoys from Hamas, aiming to reach an agreement before the start of Ramadan.
Israel has boycotted the negotiations in the Egyptian capital due to Hamas's refusal to provide a list of captives who are still alive.
Collapsing humanitarian situation
A ceasefire is desperately needed as UN data reveals that one-quarter of Gaza's 2.3 million population is "one step away from famine," with children suffering and dying from starvation.
According to the health ministry in Gaza on Wednesday, the Israeli attacks since October 7 have claimed the lives of 30,717 people and injured 72,156.
Egypt is increasingly concerned about Israeli threats to launch a ground invasion in Rafah city, which shares a border with Sinai and currently houses approximately 1.4 million Palestinians, a significant increase from the pre-war population of around 200,000.
Egypt has expressed deep concerns regarding the catastrophic impact such an operation would have on exacerbating the already dire humanitarian situation in the strip.
Egypt conducted its first airdrop of humanitarian aid on Tuesday, February 27, to areas in northern Gaza that are difficult to reach by ground means, according to the spokesman.
Egyptian officials have long accused Israel of impeding aid reaching Gaza via the Rafah and Kerem Abu Salem border crossings.
UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, has also accused Israel of deliberately starving Gazan civilians.
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