The Defense Ministry carried out a second humanitarian aid drop over the Gaza Strip, announced the Federal Defence Minister, Theo Francken, on Monday.
According to Francken (N-VA), 16 tonnes of food were dropped as part of the aid plan 'Cerulean Skies 2'.
On Sunday, the Belgian Defense Ministry's A400M aircraft carried out a first drop, parachuting around 15 tonnes of humanitarian supplies over Gaza.
The aircraft and the military detachment accompanying it left Melsbroek for Jordan on Friday. They have not finished their job: an additional flight to drop supplies is planned for August 6, according to the announcement by Francken.
Belgium is not the only country carrying out such flights since Israel authorised access to the airspace just over a week ago: France, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates have also dropped aid packages over the Gaza Strip in recent days, from Jordan, which is coordinating the operations.
The Gaza Strip is considered at risk of widespread famine, and the humanitarian situation there is catastrophic. Despite this, access to humanitarian aid by road remains limited by Israeli forces. Leading international organisations stress that air drops are "costly, insufficient, and ineffective" compared to the possibility of reaching the enclave by truck.
"If there is political will to allow aerial drops, [...] there should be similar political will to open the crossing points," the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, recently criticised.
