Spain Distributes 26 Tons of Humanitarian Aid to Gaza, Land Route Values ​​Important to Prevent Famine

Deployment of humanitarian aid to Gaza. (Wikimedia Commons/Stff. Christian Sullivan)

JAKARTA - The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the country's military deployed 26 tons of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, and asked Israel to open land border crossings to prevent starvation.

The operation, carried out in coordination with Jordan and co-financed by the European Union, dropped more than 11,000 food rations to alleviate the "catastrophic levels of food insecurity" faced by 1.1 million people in Gaza, the ministry said in a statement.

"Spain insists on opening land crossings as an indispensable measure to avoid a famine situation," said the ministry, as reported by Reuters, March 28.

Other Western countries, including the United States, France and Germany, as well as Jordan have also used airdrops to deliver aid to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, after nearly six months of war between Israeli forces and Hamas militants.

Aid agencies say deliveries to Gaza, much of which was wasted by Israeli bombardment, have been hampered by bureaucratic obstacles and insecurity since the start of the war on October 7, 2023.

Last week, a UN-backed report said famine was imminent and would likely begin in May in northern Gaza and could spread across the enclave by July.

Apart from that, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs also reaffirmed its commitment to support UNRWA, the UN humanitarian agency for Palestine and its continued existence.

In January, UNRWA's main donors, including the US and Germany, suspended funding following allegations that some 12 of its tens of thousands of Palestinian employees were suspected of involvement in Hamas attacks on Israel that sparked the war.

Israel itself says it has not limited the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza and blames UN agencies for being inefficient in reaching civilians there.