Updated Report – Friday 1 August:
Spain confirmed on Friday that it had completed an airdrop of 12 tonnes of food into Gaza, where famine conditions are worsening. The delivery, announced earlier this week (see original report below), is sufficient to feed approximately 11,000 people.
According to Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, the operation used 24 parachutes, each loaded with 500kg of food supplies, totalling 12 tonnes. In a video statement posted on X (see below), Albares also noted that additional Spanish aid is stationed in Egypt, awaiting clearance to cross into Gaza by land.
‘The induced famine that the people of Gaza are suffering is a disgrace to all of humanity,’ Albares said. ‘Israel must open all land crossings permanently so that humanitarian aid can enter on a massive scale.’
Spain is among a growing number of Western nations, such as Britain and France, that have coordinated with Middle Eastern partners to deliver aid to the Palestinian enclave by air.
However, Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), stressed that air deliveries alone are not a viable solution.
‘Airdrops are at least 100 times more costly than trucks. Trucks carry twice as much aid as planes,’ he wrote on X.
While Israel has recently increased the number of aid trucks allowed into Gaza, humanitarian organisations argue that more could be done to accelerate inspections and expand access through additional crossings.
See original report report below.
Por Gaza
@AECID_es @MAECgob @Defensagob pic.twitter.com/Gam8ImqyDt
— José Manuel Albares (@jmalbares) August 1, 2025
✈️ Impecable trabajo del @EjercitoAire, que ha hecho posible el lanzamiento aéreo de 12 toneladas de alimentos sobre #Gaza.
— Ministerio Defensa (@Defensagob) August 1, 2025
🫡 Una vez más, gracias por estar ahí, al lado de quienes más lo necesitan.#EADA #Ala31 pic.twitter.com/RfqXHEn4Wx
Original Report:
Spain announced on Monday that it plans to airdrop 12 tonnes of food into Gaza this week, as the territory faces an escalating risk of famine after nearly two years of conflict.
The effort marks a rare instance of a European country participating in airborne aid deliveries alongside Middle Eastern nations.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has been among the most outspoken European leaders criticising Israel’s military actions in Gaza, confirmed the operation would be carried out on Friday using Spanish air force aircraft departing from Jordan. ALSO READ: Sánchez: ‘We have a moral duty to save lives in Gaza’, which is a ‘catastrophic situation of genocide’.
‘The famine in Gaza is a shame for all of humanity and stopping it, therefore, is a moral imperative,’ he said during a press conference.
‘The Spanish government is already preparing a shipment of food for the Gaza Strip,’ he said. ‘But the only true solution is for [Benjamin] Netanyahu to activate a ceasefire, open the land humanitarian corridor, and end this barbarity.’
According to the Spanish defence ministry, the delivery will mirror a previous mission undertaken in March 2024, when Spain sent 26 tonnes of food to the region.
The conflict in Gaza, now stretching into its 21st month, began following the unprecedented assault by Hamas militants on 7 October 2023. The humanitarian situation in the enclave, home to over two million people, has since deteriorated dramatically.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the alarm over ‘alarming levels’ of malnutrition in Gaza, following the imposition of a full Israeli blockade on 2 March.
While Israel permitted a limited amount of aid to re-enter the territory in late May, the volume remains well below what humanitarian agencies say is urgently required.
Aid officials generally remain doubtful that airdrops alone can meet the scale of food needs safely or effectively in the besieged strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to reject responsibility for the unfolding crisis, instead accusing the United Nations of spreading ‘pretexts and lies about Israel’.
Speaking on Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned: ‘Conflict continues to spread hunger from Gaza to Sudan and beyond… We must never accept hunger as a weapon of war.’
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“Des mères bercent des bébés qu’elles ne peuvent plus nourrir”: à Gaza, le récit d’une famine meurtrièrehttps://t.co/pOemUPjxaD pic.twitter.com/CStR8ULSQk
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) July 26, 2025
Malnutrition is on a dangerous trajectory in the Gaza Strip, marked by a spike in deaths in July.
Of 74 malnutrition-related deaths in 2025, 63 occurred in July—including 24 children under five, a child over five, and 38 adults. Most of these people were declared dead on arrival… pic.twitter.com/nIILYzPYhj
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) July 27, 2025
Detener la hambruna en Gaza es un imperativo moral, político y humanitario.
El Gobierno prepara ya un envío de alimento para la Franja.
Pero la única solución verdadera es que Netanyahu active un alto el fuego, abra el corredor humanitario terrestre y acabe con esta barbarie. pic.twitter.com/NPhs5f4gRG
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) July 28, 2025
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