Israel Announces Gaza Airdrops Amid Growing Starvation \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ Israel’s military will begin aid airdrops and open humanitarian corridors in Gaza amid mounting global outrage over starvation deaths. Recent Israeli strikes and gunfire have killed over 50, many while seeking food. Ceasefire negotiations remain frozen as the humanitarian crisis deepens.
Quick Looks
- Israel’s military announced aid airdrops would begin Saturday night in Gaza
- Humanitarian corridors for UN convoys are planned but lack clear timeline
- Israel insists combat operations continue and denies starvation is occurring
- Palestinian health officials say 53 killed in 24 hours, many seeking food
- At least 11 were killed during an attempt to reach a UN convoy Saturday
- Witnesses say Israeli forces opened fire near aid sites in Zikim and Khan Younis
- Children with no health issues are now dying of starvation, UN confirms
- Ceasefire talks have collapsed; U.S. and Israel withdrew negotiating teams
- Over 1,000 Palestinians killed seeking aid since May, UN says
- International pressure is mounting; over 100 aid groups condemn blockade
- Israel allowed 250 aid trucks into Gaza this week, far below pre-war levels
- Airdrops by Jordan, UAE, and UK expected, though UN warns they’re insufficient
- Gaza’s Health Ministry reports over 59,700 killed since the war began
- UN urges immediate humanitarian pause and restoration of aid channels
Deep Look
In response to intensifying international criticism and the worsening humanitarian disaster in Gaza, Israel’s military announced Saturday it will begin airdropping humanitarian aid and plans to open corridors for United Nations convoys. The decision comes amid harrowing scenes of children dying from starvation and scores of Palestinians being killed while trying to access food.
The Israeli military’s statement, released late Saturday, did not specify when or where the UN corridors would open but said it is prepared to initiate humanitarian pauses in densely populated areas. It emphasized that combat against Hamas continues and insisted that “there is no starvation” in Gaza, despite growing evidence and expert warnings to the contrary.
The situation on the ground paints a far more dire picture. Overnight and into Saturday, at least 53 people were killed by Israeli strikes and gunfire, according to Palestinian health officials and ambulance services. Most were civilians, many gunned down while trying to reach aid near the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza.
At Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, bodies continued to arrive. Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiyah said at least 11 were killed and 120 wounded Saturday evening when Israeli troops opened fire on crowds approaching a UN convoy. “We are expecting the numbers to surge in the next few hours,” he said. Israel offered no immediate comment.
The shootings near Zikim followed a deadly pattern. Earlier in the week, over 80 Palestinians were killed in a similar incident. Eyewitness Sherif Abu Aisha described a panicked crowd running toward what they thought was an aid truck—only to discover it was an Israeli tank. “That’s when they started firing,” he said. “We went because there is no food.”
Additional fatalities occurred across Gaza. Israeli airstrikes killed four in a Gaza City apartment building and eight more—including four children—in a tent camp in Khan Younis. Nine more civilians were reported dead after Israeli fire near the Morag corridor.
The violence comes as ceasefire talks have stalled. U.S. and Israeli teams were recalled from negotiations in Cairo, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government is considering “alternative options.” Hamas officials maintain talks will resume soon and that the walkout was a pressure tactic.
Mediators Egypt and Qatar have stated the pause in negotiations is temporary but offered no timeline. In the meantime, conditions continue to deteriorate rapidly. The UN and humanitarian organizations have warned for months that Gaza is at risk of famine. Now, children without underlying health conditions are beginning to starve.
“We only want enough food to end our hunger,” said Wael Shaaban at a Gaza City charity kitchen, trying to feed his six family members.
The Israeli military claims it places no limit on aid entering the enclave, reporting 250 aid trucks delivered this past week. But that figure falls far short of the 600 trucks per day that entered during the brief ceasefire Israel ended in March. The UN, meanwhile, says movement is heavily restricted by Israeli checkpoints and widespread looting—exacerbated by the collapse of local security forces following targeted airstrikes on Hamas police units.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have died trying to reach aid since May, according to the UN human rights office. Many were killed near the newly established aid points managed by an American contractor under Israel’s revised distribution model. Over 100 humanitarian organizations and rights groups have condemned the system, calling it unsafe and unsustainable.
International pressure is growing. A coalition of more than two dozen Western nations, along with religious leaders and aid groups, have called for an immediate end to hostilities and the restoration of safe humanitarian corridors.
At the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Father Issa Thaljieh called the ongoing suffering “a crime against humanity.” “Stand for Gaza,” he said during a joint prayer with local leaders. “Silence is a crime, and indifference is a betrayal of humanity.”
With land routes proving dangerous and inadequate, Israel agreed for the first time in months to allow airdrops, at the request of neighboring Jordan. A Jordanian official confirmed the airdrops would include food and infant formula. The United Arab Emirates also said its air drops would begin “immediately,” and the U.K. announced plans to coordinate with partners to deliver aid and evacuate medically vulnerable children.
However, UN officials issued a stark warning: airdrops are not a viable long-term solution. Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), called them “expensive, inefficient, and dangerous.” He stressed that only unrestricted ground access and secure aid corridors could prevent full-scale famine.
Since the war began on October 7, 2023—following Hamas’ deadly cross-border attack—Gaza’s Health Ministry reports more than 59,700 Palestinians have been killed. The figure includes both militants and civilians, but health officials say over half of the dead are women and children. Though the ministry operates under Hamas, the UN and other international agencies rely on its casualty figures due to a lack of alternatives.
As of Saturday night, aid efforts remain limited, ceasefire talks are suspended, and Gaza’s humanitarian crisis continues to spiral. With tens of thousands displaced, food stocks exhausted, and medical infrastructure collapsing, aid groups warn that time is running out.
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