RAF Atlas aircraft parachutes 10 tonnes of food aid into Gaza for the first time
The Royal Air Force has airdropped more than 10 tonnes of food into Gaza for the first time.
The aid, which is made up of water, rice, cooking oil, flour, tinned goods and baby formula, was delivered by an A400M Atlas.
Flying from Amman in Jordan, the Atlas aircraft travelled along the northern coastline of Gaza as part of a Jordanian-led international aid mission.
UK personnel worked alongside the Jordanians air force to both plan and conduct the mission.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps authorised the air-drop after the risk of threat to the military mission and civilians was reduced.
"The UK has already tripled our aid budget to Gaza, but we want to go further in order to reduce human suffering," he said.
"Today's airdrop has provided a further way to deliver humanitarian support and I thank the RAF personnel involved in this essential mission, as well as our Jordanian partners for their leadership.
"The hell that was unleashed by the October 7 Hamas attack has led to wide-scale innocent loss of life.
"The UK's goal is to use every route possible to deliver life-saving aid, whether that is by road, air or new routes via the sea.
"We also continue to call on Israel to provide port access and open more land crossings in order to increase incoming aid deliveries to Gaza."
The mission marked the first time an Atlas aircraft has delivered humanitarian aid by parachute.
Both RAF and British Army personnel took part in the mission, with the drop zones surveyed before and during the mission to ensure aid got to civilians.
The most recent mission comes after the UK recently delivered 2,000 tonnes of UK food aid to feed more than 275,000 people in Gaza.
Britain has also delivered thousands of UK-funded blankets, tents and other relief items, as well as the establishment of a full UK-funded field hospital in Gaza run by British charity UK-Med.
The UK has also supported international airdrops by providing around 600 parachutes to Jordan and Bahrain, as well as critical aid for a Jordanian airdrop to a hospital in northern Gaza.
Last year, the RAF also delivered aid to Egypt for distribution by the Egyptian Red Crescent and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Last week, the head of UNRWA said it as "outrageous" that Israel would block aid deliveries to the northern part of Gaza.
Phlippe Lazzarini said Israel had told the UN the conveys of aid would no longer be approved, a move made by Israel after it accused 12 UNRWA staff of participating in October's Hamas terror attack - with nine of the employees then sacked.
According to the Ministry of Defence, the UK is continuing to work with allies to open a maritime corridor to Gaza, with UK defence planning teams in the US and Cyprus supporting the effort.
The UK Hydrographic Office shared analysis of the Gazan shore with US planners to help establish a temporary aid pier and in January the UK worked with Cypriot partners to pre-screen 87 tonnes of aid that was delivered by Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship RFA Lyme Bay.
The UK recently announced a further £10m in aid funding for the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), bringing the total spend to over £100m this financial year.
It comes as the UN Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, which saw the US abstaining from the vote - a change in stance from Washington.
The UN also called for the immediate release of all hostages in what marks the first time the organisation has called for a ceasefire since Israel’s campaign in Gaza started in October last year.
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