Gaza slams aid airdrops citing chaos, destruction, and deaths
Gaza's Interior Ministry denounces aid airdrops as chaos-inducing and inadequate, urging the opening of land crossings to address famine and destruction.
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Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025 (AP)
The Gaza Ministry of Interior and National Security condemned the performative airdrops of aid in Gaza, characterizing them as a tool of manipulation, rather than genuine aid for the starved Palestinians in the Strip.
The Ministry said in a statement that the Israeli occupation is exploiting the airdropping of aid boxes as part of its deliberate starvation policy, fueling chaos, lawlessness, and the rise of armed gangs and looters.
The statement added that the airdrops have caused a large number of casualties among civilians in the ensuing chaos, with some aid packages falling directly onto homes and the tents of displaced people, resulting in deaths, including women and children.
The most recent of such incidents occurred today in northern Gaza, while also destroying tents and causing severe damage to homes and property.
Gaza's Interior Ministry condemned the airdropped aid as woefully inadequate amid worsening famine conditions, stressing that these symbolic drops barely make a dent in the overwhelming humanitarian crisis while "Israel" continues blocking far more substantial aid deliveries that could enter through land crossings.
The aid airdrops are counterproductive, the Ministry stated, cautioning that the chaos and casualties they cause far outweigh any marginal relief for starved Palestinians. It emphasized that the only real solution to end the engineered humanitarian crisis is fully opening land crossings to allow sustained, large-scale delivery of food and essentials, not symbolic gestures that fail to meet desperate needs.
Hamas calls to sustain pressure against "Israel", backers
Hamas expressed appreciation for the global movement and mass demonstrations in cities and international capitals that have voiced rejection and condemnation of the war of extermination and starvation in Gaza, while "exposing the Zionist occupation's terrorism against defenseless civilians, including women and children."
In a statement, Hamas called for sustaining and escalating public pressure in all cities, capitals, and public squares, particularly on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, August 8, 9, and 10, as well as in all coming days, through marches, protests, and sit-ins outside Israeli, American, and other embassies that support the occupation and aggression.
The movement also called for unified efforts to pressure the occupation to immediately open border crossings and allow humanitarian aid entry, rejecting the international community’s silence and inaction in the face of the horrific killings, through both bombardment and starvation, targeting over two million Palestinian civilians.
Hamas concluded its statement by declaring, "Let this global movement persist and intensify in the coming days, through all its forms, methods, and diversity, in every city, capital, and public square worldwide. Let it stand in solidarity with our people’s right to freedom and independence, as a victory for human values and justice, and as a rejection of the occupation’s crimes of genocide and starvation, until the crossings are opened, the siege is lifted, and the aggression against Gaza ends."
El-Sisi sends more airdrops regardless
Meanwhile, despite the numerous condemnations and statements against the aid airdrops, Egyptian President Abdelfattah el-Sisi called on the authorities to continue what he called all efforts supporting Gaza's population amid catastrophic conditions.
In a Facebook post, Egyptian Armed Forces Spokesperson Gharib Abdel-Hafez Gharib stated that the president's decision reflects "Egypt's continued support for the Palestinian cause and its backing of Palestinian brothers to overcome their current humanitarian ordeal."
The spokesperson further stated that "12 military transport aircraft had taken off over the past three days carrying large quantities of food aid to conduct airdrops over hard-to-reach areas in the Gaza Strip," while emphasizing Egypt's ongoing efforts to ensure a continuous flow of aid trucks into Gaza by land.