Live updates: Israel eases some Gaza aid restrictions as more Palestinians starve

Israeli military releases video of aid being air dropped into Gaza

Israeli military releases video of aid being air dropped into Gaza

01:16

The video above, from the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), shows an airdrop it says it carried out into Gaza on Saturday, for the first time in several months.

Seven packages of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food were dropped into the Gaza Strip, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli agency that manages the flow of aid into the territory, said.

The operation is reported to have taken place following international pressure after stark images of the starvation crisis gripping Gaza caused widespread outrage.

A Palestinian journalist confirmed to CNN an aerial drop of aid was carried out north of Gaza City.

For context: With nearly 500,000 Palestinians facing “catastrophic levels of food insecurity,” according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the practice of dropping aid has been criticised by aid agencies and international organisations as expensive, inefficient and dangerous for those on the ground.

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees called the drops a “distraction” Saturday, saying it will do little to alleviate suffering in the enclave while Israel maintains its blockade.

Airdrops have proven deadly in Gaza. In a tragic incident last year, five people were killed when airdropped aid packages fell on them in the Al Shati camp west of Gaza City, according to a journalist on the scene.