Humanitarian aid from Spain has arrived in Gaza, thanks to a joint Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministry operation

An Air Force plane launches humanitarian aid from Spain to the population of Gaza

The humanitarian aid sent from Spain is already in Gaza following the joint operation of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, which is part of Spain's commitment to the civilian population, which is suffering the consequences of the conflict unleashed after the Hamas terrorist attack on 7 October.

This morning some 26 tonnes of humanitarian aid, consisting of more than 11,000 food rations, were air dropped after two A400 Air and Space Force planes took off from the Zaragoza Air Base yesterday, Tuesday 26 March, carrying the aid. The operation was coordinated with the Jordanian authorities and is co-financed by the European Union. Around 40 military personnel from the Operations Command, the JFAC (Joint Air Command Centre), the EADA (Air Deployment Support Squadron) and the JMOVA (Air Mobility Headquarters) took part.

Spain has called for the opening of land crossings as an indispensable measure to prevent famine in the Gaza Strip. The massive supply of humanitarian aid by road is the most effective way to respond to this humanitarian emergency. However, the difficulties of access at this time make it advisable to explore all avenues to get aid to the civilian population, including by air, as other countries such as France, Germany and the United States are doing.

Up to 1.1 million people in Gaza face catastrophic levels of food insecurity according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a tool that classifies the severity of this challenge. The IPC also expects malnutrition rates to worsen unless aid is scaled up and reaches the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations. Meanwhile, humanitarian access to the population is insufficient to curb the imminent famine and emergency situation caused by lack of access to basic services such as water and sanitation, health, shelter, etc.

Spain's commitment

At least 31,998 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the conflict began on 7 October. Of these, about 70% are women and children. Another 74,188 people are estimated to have been injured in the same period.

Spain's commitment to getting humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees is firm and ongoing. In 2023, Spain tripled its support to Palestine compared to the previous year, to more than 50 million euros in humanitarian and cooperation funds. Of this total, 19.5 million went to fund the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

In 2024, Spain has reaffirmed its commitment to support UNRWA's humanitarian response in Palestine, as well as the very existence of the organisation, which provides essential services to 6 million Palestinian refugees not only in Gaza and the West Bank, but also in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, enabling the agency to maintain its activities in the short term with a contribution of at least 23.5 million euros.

Non official translation