Aid airdrops resume in N. Gaza: sources

GAZA/JERUSALEM, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Airdrops of humanitarian aid resumed over various locations in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday evening as humanitarian conditions in the enclave continued to deteriorate, according to Palestinian sources and eyewitnesses.

Local sources told Xinhua that several boxes containing flour, sugar and canned goods were dropped by parachute over the Sudaniya area in northern Gaza.

One of the aid parcels landed on a tent sheltering displaced people in the north of Gaza, causing minor injuries to several individuals, according to eyewitnesses.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement earlier that airdrops of humanitarian aid into Gaza will resume later in the night.

The airdrops will deliver seven pallets of aid, including flour, sugar, and canned food, provided by international organizations, it said, while announcing a plan to establish designated humanitarian corridors allowing the safe movement of UN convoys in Gaza.

For its part, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said it has decided to immediately resume airdrops of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

In a post on social media platform X, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said that the UAE's relief efforts would continue "by land, air, and sea" to address the urgent needs of the most affected populations in Gaza.

The resumption of aid airdrops comes amid warnings from humanitarian organizations of a worsening starvation in Gaza, where access to necessities has been severely restricted since Israel closed all crossings to the strip in March.■