Britain completes second drop of food aid into Gaza

The Royal Air Force has now dropped 20 tonnes of aid, including baby formula, into Gaza.

The drop zones were surveyed before and during the airdrop to ensure aid is delivered to civilians as safely as possible. The airdrop is part of ongoing UK efforts to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza and follows recent land deliveries of 2,000 tonnes of UK food aid and 150 tonnes of UK-funded relief aid, UK Defence Journal reports.

The Ministry of Defence say here that the A400M is a highly capable tactical and strategic airlift platform and the most recent airdrop was its second ever mission delivering humanitarian aid by parachute.

The @RoyalAirForce has today successfully completed its second air drop of essential aid to Gaza.

Thanks to everyone involved for making sure this essential humanitarian aid gets to the people who need it most. More than 20 tonnes of aid has been dropped this week.

We will… pic.twitter.com/vPJk3OoBEC

— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) March 29, 2024

The UK has previously supported international airdrops, providing around 600 parachutes at the request of Jordan and Bahrain and supplying critical aid for a Jordanian airdrop to Tal Al-Hawa Hospital in northern Gaza. Between October and November 2023, the RAF also delivered aid and humanitarian supplies to Egypt for distribution by the Egyptian Red Crescent and UNRWA.

Earlier in the month, An RAF A400M flew from Amman, Jordan to airdrop this aid along the northern coastline of Gaza, as part of the Jordanian-led international aid mission. UK personnel worked closely with the Royal Jordanian Air Force to plan and conduct this mission.