GENEVA

Spain will dispatch an urgent humanitarian aid shipment to Gaza to help feed 11,000 people, the country's foreign minister said Thursday, condemning what he called "the famine induced by Israel" and demanding the immediate and neutral delivery of aid through land crossings.

The 12-ton shipment, organized by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, will depart from Zaragoza Air Base and be delivered on Friday by a Spanish Air Force A400 via parachutes from Jordan.

These are about 5,500 food rations, which can feed approximately 11,000 people, and are in addition to the trucks with Spanish humanitarian aid waiting at the border, according to the Foreign Ministry

The operation is a joint effort between Spain's Foreign Affairs and Defense ministries. Albares described the shipment as "a drop in the ocean" but a necessary act "to alleviate the famine induced by Israel in Gaza."

"The induced famine that Gazans are suffering is a disgrace to humanity. We are talking about daily deaths from hunger, 100,000 children and 40,000 babies at risk of death. Israel must now allow the permanent, uninterrupted, and free passage of all possible humanitarian aid," he said.

Albares stressed the need for a ceasefire and regular, sufficient delivery of humanitarian aid, saying: "What is happening in Gaza must end now and cannot be repeated."

Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza for 18 years and, since March 2, has shut down all crossings, blocking the entry of humanitarian aid and worsening conditions for the territory’s 2.4 million population.

The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 60,200 Palestinians. The relentless bombardment has devastated the enclave and led to food shortages.

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.