Gaza, July 28, 2025: Spain announced on Monday it will airlift 12 tonnes of food into Gaza later this week, as the Palestinian territory teeters on the brink of famine after 21 months of war. The operation marks a rare instance of a European country joining regional efforts to deliver humanitarian aid via airdrops.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, speaking at a press conference, said the airdrop will take place on Friday from Jordan using Spanish Air Force aircraft. He condemned the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling it “a shame for all of humanity.”
“Stopping the famine in Gaza is a moral imperative,” Sanchez declared.
According to Spain’s Ministry of Defence, the airdrop will follow a model similar to a previous mission in March 2024, when 26 tonnes of food were delivered to the besieged enclave.
Gaza’s humanitarian crisis has deepened since Israel launched its military offensive in response to Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack. More than two million Palestinians now face critical shortages of food, clean water, and medical supplies.
The World Health Organization has described the levels of malnutrition in Gaza as “alarming,” particularly since Israel imposed a total blockade on March 2. Although Israel began allowing limited aid to enter in late May, humanitarian agencies say current levels fall far short of what is needed.
Despite ongoing international efforts, experts caution that airdrops alone are insufficient to meet the scale of need. Aid groups emphasize the importance of restoring sustained ground-based humanitarian corridors.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected accusations that Israel is responsible for the dire conditions in Gaza, accusing the United Nations of spreading “pretexts and lies about Israel.”
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Monday of the broader consequences of using starvation as a tactic of war. “Conflict continues to spread hunger from Gaza to Sudan and beyond… We must never accept hunger as a weapon of war,” he said.
