Aid to Gaza airdropped by the US
Aid to Gaza airdropped by the USReuters

Spanish military planes air dropped 26 tons of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

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 up to 1.1 million people in Gaza, the Spanish Foreign Ministry said in a statement quoted by Reuters.

"Spain insists on the opening of the land crossings as an indispensable measure to avoid a famine situation," it added.

Several other countries, including the United States, France and Germany, have resorted to air drops of humanitarian aid to Gaza in recent weeks.

The US warmed up to the idea after Jordan conducted several rounds of such airdrops.

The first airdrop took place in early March and saw US C-130 aircraft dropping 38,000 meals along the Gaza coastline. There have been several other rounds since.

The US has also announced plans for a temporary pier on the coast of Gaza that would receive large shipments carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelter and provide aid to the Strip.

A US official said last week that the United States is aiming for the pier to be ready before May 1.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, the Spanish foreign ministry also reaffirmed its commitment to supporting UNRWA, the UN agency for “Palestinian refugees”.

A total of 16 countries in January paused payments to UNRWA soon after Israel said that 12 UNRWA staff had taken part in Hamas’ October 7 attack. Spain, however, has pledged additional aid to the agency.