Starmer says UK to help air drop aid into Gaza - but UN warns they could kill starving civilians

Independent

2 days ago

The UK is working with Jordan on plans to air drop aid into Gaza and evacuate children needing medical assistance, Sir Keir Starmer has announced.
But the UN has warned has warned the focus on air drops is a 'distraction', and could lead to more deaths in the war-torn enclave.
The prime minister held emergency talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Saturday amid mounting global anger at the starving population in the besieged enclave.
In a readout of the call, a spokesperson for Sir Keir said the leaders had agreed 'it would be vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently needed ceasefire into lasting peace'.
The three leaders agreed the situation in Gaza is 'appalling', the readout said, adding there is an 'urgent need for an immediate ceasefire, for Israel to lift all restrictions on aid and urgently provide those suffering in Gaza with the food they so desperately need'.
'The prime minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to air drop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance,' the statement added.
Israel said on Friday it will allow airdrops of aid by foreign countries into Gaza to alleviate starvation in the Palestinian territory.
However, the head of the United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa has criticised aid air drops, saying it 'will not reverse the deepening starvation" in Gaza.
'They are expensive, inefficient & can even kill starving civilians,' Philippe Lazzarini said. 'It is a distraction and screensmoke.'
Instead, he suggested that the starvation in Gaza can only be solved through political will. "Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need,' he said.
Mr Lazzarini said Unrwa has "the equivalent of 6,000 trucks" waiting for the "green light" into Gaza in Jordan, and Egypt.
'Driving aid through is much easier, more effective, faster, cheaper and safer,' he added. 'It's more dignified for the people of Gaza.'
It comes as Israeli airstrikes and shootings overnight killed at least 25 people, according to Palestinian health officials.
The majority of victims were killed by gunfire as they waited for aid trucks close to the Zikim crossing with Israel, staff at Shifa hospital said, where the bodies were brought.
The UN and experts have warned that Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of famine, with reports of increasing numbers of people dying from causes related to malnutrition.
Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip said on Saturday that five people in Gaza have died due to famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours.
Gaza's Government Media Office also warned of an 'unprecedented and imminent humanitarian disaster' being committed by Israel.
It said 100,000 children aged two years and under, including 40,000 babies, are at risk of death within days due to a lack of baby formula and nutritional supplements.
The Israeli military says it is allowing aid into the enclave with no limit on the number of trucks that can enter. However, the UN said this is hampered by Israeli military restrictions on its movements and incidents of criminal looting.
Israel is facing increased international pressure to alleviate the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza as US-led peace talks in Qatar were cut short on Thursday.
Washington's special envoy Steve Witkoff accused Hamas of a 'lack of desire to reach a ceasefire'.
The deal under discussion is expected to include a 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Aid supplies would be ramped up, and the two sides would hold negotiations on a lasting truce under the deal.