An official at a Jordanian government-affiliated charity said on Wednesday that aid airdrops over the Gaza Strip had stopped, without providing a reason for the change.
Several foreign countries had joined operations coordinated by the Jordanian military since late July to parachute parcels of humanitarian aid into Gaza, where the UN has declared famine after nearly two years of war.
The airdrops, which aid groups have said were insufficient and could not replace land access, took place with Israeli approval. The last airdrop took place on August 26.
Hussein Al-Shebli, head of the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization, told AFP that the airdrops had been suspended “in recent days”, without elaborating.
A Jordanian government source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that unspecified “Israeli obstacles” were behind the change.
The source said Jordan was ready to resume the airdrop operations “if the Israeli obstacles are removed”.
Israel’s Kan public broadcaster reported on Sunday that the airdrops had been suspended “until further notice”.
The Israeli broadcaster said Egypt and Jordan, which led the aid effort, decided to stop it “for their own reasons”, adding that no country had submitted new requests to parachute aid into Gaza.
Shebli said “work is underway” to arrange other ways to deliver much needed aid into Gaza.
According to the Jordanian military, since July 27 there had been 400 airdrops over Gaza with tonnes of humanitarian supplies.
UN agencies and humanitarian groups have repeatedly called on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza by land, while Israel has blamed shortages on mismanagement of supplies on the ground and looting.
The halt to airdrop operations coincides with an intensified Israeli military offensive around Gaza City, the Palestinian territory’s largest urban centre.
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© Agence France-Presse
