The UK has completed its 11th airdrop into Gaza today, reaching
the milestone of over 100 tonnes of life-saving aid delivered by
air.
Over the course of 11 Royal Air Force flights, the UK has
delivered ready-to-eat meals, water, rice, tinned goods and
flour, with a total of 12 tonnes dropped into Northern Gaza
today.
The UK began conducting airdrops in late March, as part of the
Jordanian international initiative. The Royal Air Force has used
A400Ms, flying from Amman, Jordan, where aid pallets attached to
parachutes are collected and loaded by RAF and British Army
personnel.
The aid is dropped along the northern coastline of Gaza, with
drop zones regularly surveyed to ensure civilians are not harmed.
Each flight takes around one hour and British personnel work
closely with the Royal Jordanian Air Force to plan and conduct
each mission.
Defence Secretary said:
Our commitment to delivering large quantities of aid to those
most in need is unwavering, this milestone is both testament to
that and a demonstration of where our focus lies over the coming
weeks and months.
Given the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, we deployed RFA
Cardigan Bay to the Eastern Mediterranean to support efforts to
build a temporary pier to deliver crucial humanitarian
assistance.
We continue to pressure Israel to fully open Ashdod Port as well
as more land crossings.
Foreign Secretary said:
The UK is playing a leadership role in alleviating the
humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Through our partnership with Jordan,
we have now delivered 100 tonnes of life-saving aid by air.
But it is only by land that we will be able to transport the full
amount of humanitarian assistance needed. We have seen an
encouraging increase in the number of aid trucks getting in, but
we must see further action so that more aid gets over the border
and is safely distributed.
Royal Navy support ship RFA Cardigan Bay recently set sail from
Cyprus to support international efforts to open a maritime aid
corridor to Gaza. The ship is providing accommodation for
hundreds of US sailors and soldiers building a temporary pier off
the coast of Gaza. According to US estimates, this pier will
initially facilitate the delivery of 90 truckloads of aid into
Gaza and scale up to 150 truckloads once fully operational.
As land routes remain the quickest and most effective means of
delivering aid, the UK also continues to engage with Israel to
open more land crossings into Gaza.
