Humanitarian leaders have sharply criticized international air drops of aid into Gaza, calling them a “grotesque distraction” that does little to address the catastrophic hunger crisis gripping the region.

Israel’s military announced on Sunday that it had conducted air drops of humanitarian supplies over Gaza, and additional drops by the United Arab Emirates and Jordan are expected soon. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also pledged full support for air delivery efforts, saying the UK was doing “everything we can” to get aid into Gaza.

But leading figures in the aid sector say the air drops fall far short of what’s truly needed.

“Air drops will never be able to deliver the volume or quality of aid required,” said Ciarán Donnelly of the International Rescue Committee.

The criticism comes amid mounting reports of mass starvation. Over 100 aid groups and human rights organisations have sounded the alarm, and the World Food Programme (WFP) recently warned that one in three Gazans have gone days without food. An estimated 90,000 women and children require immediate treatment.

According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, at least 127 people—85 of them children—have died from malnutrition since the war began.

Aid Bottleneck and Bureaucratic Gridlock

The surge in airdrop efforts stems largely from the continued failure to get aid into Gaza through land routes. Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), was blunt in his assessment:

“Air drops are expensive, inefficient, and dangerous. They can even kill starving civilians if mismanaged.”

He said 6,000 truckloads of aid are stalled in Jordan and Egypt, waiting for clearance to cross into Gaza, adding that real progress requires political will to “lift the siege, open the gates, and guarantee safe access.”

“Land delivery is faster, safer, cheaper, and more dignified,” Lazzarini emphasized.

Although Israel recently announced plans for “designated humanitarian corridors” to facilitate UN aid convoys, details on how these will work remain unclear.

Israel maintains that it imposes no restrictions on humanitarian aid and has accused the UN of collaborating with Hamas to disrupt aid distribution. The UN has denied this, instead blaming Israeli bureaucracy for delays and bottlenecks.

A recent USAID report found no evidence of systemic looting or theft of aid by Hamas, challenging Israeli claims.

Air Drops: Too Little, Too Risky

Previous attempts at air drops have shown how ineffective the method can be on a large scale. Last year, the UK’s Royal Air Force joined a Jordanian-led coalition to drop 110 tonnes of aid, but humanitarian groups say such amounts are insufficient to meet Gaza’s growing needs.

A BBC analysis found that to deliver just one meal per person for Gaza’s 2.1 million people, it would take over 160 military cargo flights. The UAE and Jordan—two key contributors—collectively operate less than 20 such aircraft.

“The scale is simply unmanageable,” one aid official noted.

Beyond being inefficient, airdrops have also proven dangerous. Shaina Low of the Norwegian Refugee Council reported that civilians have been injured or even killed while scrambling for supplies.

“Some people have drowned chasing aid that landed in the sea. Others were crushed by falling boxes. Even when aid landed safely, there was chaos—fighting and injuries,” she said.

People inside Gaza share those fears. One resident in the north of the Strip told BBC Arabic the process has caused “numerous tragedies.”

“Aid drops have landed on tents. They’re unsafe and terrifying.”

Desperate for Water and Safety

Beyond food, access to clean water remains critically low. One mother described her family’s condition in heartbreaking terms:

“There’s no food, no bread, not even water. We’re craving even water.”

The humanitarian catastrophe stems from Israel’s military campaign in response to Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

Since then, more than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s health ministry. At the start of March, Israel imposed a complete blockade on aid, tightening pressure on Hamas. Military operations resumed later that month after a temporary ceasefire collapsed.

Despite partial easing of the blockade, the situation remains dire. Supplies of food, fuel, and medicine have further declined, and Gaza’s civilian infrastructure is in ruins. Over 90% of homes are damaged or destroyed, and most of the population has been displaced multiple times.

The Bottom Line

While air drops may be visually powerful and politically symbolic, aid agencies insist they are no substitute for sustained, coordinated relief through land corridors.

Until those routes are opened and secured, Gaza’s population will continue to face famine, disease, and unimaginable hardship—with or without aid falling from the sky.