BRUSSELS

Belgium is preparing to carry out new humanitarian aid airdrops over the Gaza Strip, Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken announced Saturday.

"We've been ready to do this again for weeks, from Jordan," Francken told Dutch-language daily Het Laatste Nieuws reported.

"We're working on it. The humanitarian situation is dire. We must help. If Jordan and Israel give the green light, it will happen," he added.

Belgium previously participated in joint international efforts to deliver humanitarian aid by air to the besieged Palestinian enclave.

The Health Ministry in Gaza said early Friday that nine more Palestinians have died in the past 24 hours due to famine and malnutrition, bringing the number of starvation-related deaths to 122, including 83 children.

Since March 2, Israel has backtracked on implementing a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal with Hamas and has kept Gaza’s crossings shut, leaving hundreds of aid trucks stranded at the borders.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, Israel has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since late 2023, killing more than 59,600 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Deaths by starvation have climbed in recent days due to a months-long blockade and poor distribution of aid by the controversial GHF.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.​​​​​​​

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.