BRUSSELS

Oxfam warned on Sunday that aid airdrops and the limited entry of aid trucks are not enough to reverse the impact of prolonged hunger in Gaza, calling for immediate and unrestricted humanitarian access.

"Deadly airdrops and a trickle of trucks won't undo months of engineered starvation in Gaza," Bushra Khalidi, policy lead for Oxfam in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, said in an X post.

She emphasized that what is urgently needed is "the immediate opening of all crossings for full, unhindered, and safe aid delivery across all of Gaza and a permanent ceasefire."

"Anything less risks being little more than a tactical gesture," she said.

This comes as Israel carried out a humanitarian aid airdrop over Gaza on Sunday and announced plans for localized temporary pauses in fighting to allow aid delivery through designated safe corridors.

Since May 27, Israel has launched a separate aid distribution initiative through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), bypassing the UN and international humanitarian agencies. The move has been widely rejected by the global relief community. The GHF is supported by the US.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces continue to open fire on Palestinians who gather near distribution centers, killing hundreds.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for 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.