The Royal Air Force participated in a large-scale international
aid airdrop into Gaza on Tuesday (9 April 2024) to coincide with
Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan.
Collectively delivering hundreds of tonnes of aid, this was the
largest airdrop of aid into Gaza on a single day and the
culmination of careful planning alongside international partners
to ensure the complex mission could be conducted safely and
effectively.
Led by the Jordanian Armed Forces, the international operation
saw 9 nations* and 14 aircraft drop essential aid.
An RAF A400M flew this morning from Amman, Jordan to airdrop over
10 tonnes of aid, including ready-to-eat meals, water and rice,
along the northern coastline of Gaza. The flight took around an
hour with other nations' aircraft dropping aid throughout the
course of the day. The A400M Atlas and crew are based at RAF
Brize Norton in Oxfordshire with both RAF and British Army
personnel supporting the operation in Jordan. Over the last two
weeks they have dropped over 53 tonnes of aid on six flights.
Defence Secretary said:
The prospect of famine in Gaza is real and today's international
airdrop will provide life-saving food supplies for civilians.
This is the sixth RAF airdrop in recent weeks, delivering over 53
tonnes of aid, including water, flour and baby formula.
After six months of war in Gaza, the toll on civilians continues
to grow. We continue to stand by Israel's right to defeat the
threat from Hamas terrorists, who have failed the people of Gaza
and hide behind civilians. This terrible conflict must end. The
hostages must be released and the aid must flood in.
Today's international airdrop is part of UK efforts to provide
vital humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza and follows
the announcement of a package of military and civilian support to
set up a maritime aid corridor to Gaza. This includes the
deployment of a Royal Navy ship to the Eastern Mediterranean as
well as up to £9.7 million for aid deliveries.
The maritime corridor initiative will see tens of thousands of
tonnes of aid pre-screened in Cyprus and delivered directly to
Gaza, via a new US temporary pier being constructed off the coast
or via Ashdod Port, which Israel has now agreed to open.
The UK is also focused on ensuring more aid can enter Gaza by
land, and deliveries will be scaled up with the opening of the
Erez crossing. In partnership with the World Food Programme, the
UK's largest delivery of aid – more than 2,000 tonnes of food aid
– crossed the border on 13 March.
Foreign Secretary David Cameron said:
Led by our Jordanian partners, we have joined nations around the
world to mark the end of Ramadan by getting life-saving aid into
Gaza. Thousands of people in desperate need will benefit from
this united effort.
The UK remains ready to play its part in getting supplies in by
land, air and sea, but the people of Gaza need more.
We continue to push Israel as hard as we can to get more aid
across the border and delivered throughout the region. Words must
turn into action - this is essential to avoid an even more severe
humanitarian crisis.
Sunday marked 6 months since the devastating October 7 terrorist
attacks, and almost a week since British aid workers were killed
trying to get life-saving food to those in need. The UK continues
to call for an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a
sustainable ceasefire, as the fastest way to get hostages safely
home and more aid in.
