Egypt, UAE airdrop more aid into Gaza

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates

The air forces of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates carried out on Sunday a seventh joint airdrop humanitarian aid mission for Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip, UAE's WAM news agency reported.

The airdrop was part of the Birds of Goodness operation, which aims to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people.

Joint teams from both countries carried out the operation using aircraft carrying about 62 tons of food and medical aid, bringing the total to 311 tons since the initiative's launch.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attack led by the Palestinian group Hamas in which some 1,200 people were killed.

Nearly 31,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, besides causing mass destruction, displacement, and shortages of necessities.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which, in an interim ruling in January, ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an interview broadcast on Sunday said his policies of destroying Hamas, rejecting a Palestinian state, and not handing the Gaza Strip to Palestinian Authority after the war are “supported by the overwhelming majority of the Israelis.”

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul