A rights group reports that the resumption of aid airdrops in Gaza, following months of widespread hunger crisis, fails to meet the minimum humanitarian needs and does not alleviate the catastrophe caused by Israel’s deliberate starvation policy.
In a statement released on Sunday, the human rights organization Euro-Med described the airdrops of aid into the Gaza Strip as yet another “act of humiliation and degradation” against Palestinians.
This initiative, approved by Israel and implemented on Saturday evening, does not signify a genuine change in the humanitarian response, the Swiss-based group noted. “Rather, it aims to mislead international public opinion and downplay the severity of the situation, diverting attention from Israel’s systematic starvation policy in the Gaza Strip, which has led to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.”
These actions reveal Israel’s ongoing use of starvation as a primary tool to decimate the population and undermine their means of survival, the monitor stated.
“This catastrophe is characterized by widespread famine, denial of food, water, and medicine, destruction of supply chains, obstruction of land-based aid delivery, and continued attacks on those seeking food.”
The reality on the ground shows that airdropped aid is scarce, randomly distributed, and poses significant risks, the rights group added.
“It frequently lands in densely populated areas, on displaced people’s tents, in evacuated zones, in areas under Israeli control, or in the sea, making it an unsafe and ineffective method from a humanitarian perspective.”
It endangers civilians crowded into less than 15 percent of the besieged region, according to Euro-Med. “With 2.3 million Palestinians displaced into this small area due to Israeli control and forced evacuation orders, airdropped aid presents a serious risk to civilian lives amid severe overcrowding and the absence of safe areas.”
The group suggested that aid distribution should be conducted through official UN mechanisms that previously managed support through approximately 400 centers, which Israel has deliberately dismantled.
“Only the restoration of this system can ensure that aid reaches all those in need fairly, safely, and transparently, without discrimination or subjugation.” Euro-Med also estimated that around 1,200 elderly individuals have died in the past two months due to a lack of food and medical care.
The organization condemned the killing of more than 1,000 aid seekers at US-Israel distribution centers across Gaza over the past two months.
“The airdrops do not constitute a genuine humanitarian response but rather mark a new chapter in the ongoing humiliation of civilians in the Gaza Strip, following the public degradation and repeated killings at distribution centers operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation under Israel’s direction.”
The rights group urged the international community to impose economic, diplomatic, and military sanctions on Israel and its more powerful allies, particularly the United States, for their grave and systematic breaches of international law.
“Euro-Med Monitor calls for freezing the assets of responsible Israeli, US, and any complicit EU officials, banning their travel, halting military and security companies’ access to international markets, and suspending trade privileges and bilateral agreements that facilitate Israel’s ongoing Western-backed crimes against the Palestinian people.”
Elsewhere in the statement, Euro-Med Monitor called for the enforcement of International Criminal Court arrest warrants issued for the Israeli prime minister and former minister of military affairs, Yoav Gallant, over war crimes in Gaza.
