Spain air-drops 12 tonnes of food aid over Gaza

The mission deployed 24 parachutes, each capable of carrying 500 kilos (1,100 pounds) of food, for a total of 12 tonnes -- enough for 11,000 people, said Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares.

Spain also has aid waiting to cross into Gaza by road from Egypt, the minister added in a video message posted on social network X, along with a video of the operation.

"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 joins other Western countries, including Britain and France, that have recently partnered with Middle Eastern nations to deliver humanitarian supplies by air to the Palestinian enclave.

But the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees Philippe Lazzarini warned that airdrops alone would not avert the worsening hunger.

"Airdrops are at least 100 times more costly than trucks Trucks carry twice as much aid as planes," he wrote on X.

Although Israel has in recent days allowed more aid trucks into the Gaza Strip, aid agencies say Israeli authorities could do much more to speed up border checks and open more border posts.

Concern has escalated in the past week about the situation in the Gaza Strip after more than 21 months of war, which started after Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a deadly attack against Israel in October 2023.

UN-backed experts warned on Tuesday that a "worst-case scenario" famine was unfolding there that could not be reversed unless humanitarian groups got immediate and unimpeded access.