The UK has delivered food to Gaza by air for the first time. It comes after British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps called on Israel to allow more aid into the war-torn territory.
On March 25, the Royal Air Force parachuted more than 10 tons of aid, including water, rice, cooking oil, flour, canned goods and baby food, to Gaza's civilian population, The Independent reported.
An RAF A400M aircraft took off from Amman to drop supplies along the northern Gaza coast as part of an international aid mission led by Jordan, the Ministry of Defense said.
Shapps authorized the landing of the aircraft after assessing the reduction of the threat to the military mission and the risk to the civilian population.
"The UK has already tripled its aid budget for Gaza, but we want to go further to reduce human suffering. Today we introduced another way of delivering humanitarian aid and I thank the Royal Air Force personnel involved in this important mission, as well as our Jordanian partners for their leadership," the defense minister said.
"The inferno that was unleashed by the Hamas attack on 7 October has resulted in massive innocent casualties. The UK's aim is to use every avenue possible to deliver life-saving aid, whether by road, air or new sea routes. We also continue to call on Israel to provide access to ports and open more land crossings to increase aid inflows to Gaza," he added.
The aid delivery came on the day the UK backed the UN Security Council's call for a ceasefire in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Downing Street said the Security Council resolution - the first to call for an end to the fighting - sends a clear message that hostages held by Hamas must be freed and aid allowed to flow into Gaza./BGNES