A file image of food aid airdrop in Gaza. PHOTO: AFP
GAZA:
Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan on Monday dispatched its 28th humanitarian consignment to Gaza, carrying 100 tons of essential food and medical supplies, in a continued show of solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The aid is part of the foundation’s ongoing relief efforts for the war-affected population in the besieged enclave.
The consignment, arranged in coordination with the Government of Pakistan and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), was flown from Islamabad via a special aircraft to Amman, Jordan, from where it will be transported to Gaza for distribution among displaced families.
The aid dispatch comes at a time when humanitarian conditions in Gaza continue to deteriorate. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNRWA, child malnutrition rates have tripled in the last three months, and the region faces a risk of famine if access is not urgently expanded.
On July 10, children and women were killed and injured while waiting for nutrition supplies in Gaza.
The killing of families trying to access life-saving aid is unconscionable.
UNICEF’s @TedChaiban shares what’s needed urgently for children in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/M2XBScExti
— UNICEF (@UNICEF) August 2, 2025
Aid organisations say at least 600 aid trucks are needed per day to meet the Strip’s basic humanitarian needs.
Nearly 1,600 aid trucks have entered Gaza since Israel eased restrictions in late July
Local Palestinian health authorities reported that at least 80 people were killed on Sunday by Israeli airstrikes and gunfire across the Gaza Strip. According to Palestinian medics, several of the victims were attempting to reach aid distribution points in the central and southern regions of the enclave.
Among the dead was a staff member of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. The organization stated that an Israeli strike hit its headquarters in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, sparking a fire on the building’s first floor.
Growing hunger
At least 41 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn, including 20 people who were seeking aid, hospital sources told Al Jazeera.
The killings come as the United Nations warns that Gaza is on the brink of famine, with one in three residents reportedly going days without food.
“Over 320,000 young children are now at risk of acute malnutrition,” said Ted Chaiban, UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director for Humanitarian Action and Supply Operations, in a statement on Friday following his recent visit to Israel, Gaza, and the occupied West Bank.
Hospitals in Gaza have recorded six new deaths from famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, including one child, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.This brings the total number of people who have died from hunger-related causes since the start of the war to 181, including 94 children.
As starvation continues to spread across the Gaza Strip, harrowing images of emaciated children and rising reports of hunger-related deaths have sparked global outrage, pressuring Israel to allow increased humanitarian aid into the territory earlier this week.
Ceasefire
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has urged the UN Security Council (UNSC) to “fulfill its responsibilities” by imposing an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and carrying out an official visit to the region to witness the situation firsthand.
In a statement shared on social media, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry called on the UN Security Council to “stop the crimes of genocide, displacement, and annexation against our people” and to act on the resolutions of a recent UN conference advocating for a two-state solution.
The ministry warned that over two million Palestinians in Gaza are trapped in a “tight death circle” — facing relentless violence, starvation, thirst, lack of medical care, and the denial of all fundamental human rights.
Israel’s war on Gaza
The Israeli army has launched a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing at least 58,667 Palestinians, including 17,400 children. More than 139,974 people have been injured, and over 14,222 are missing and presumed dead.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.