The humanitarian aid sent from Spain is already in Gaza following the joint operation of the Ministry for Defence and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, which is part of Spain's commitment to the civilian population, who are suffering the consequences of the conflict unleashed following the Hamas's terrorist attack on 7 October.
The 26 tonnes of humanitarian aid, consisting of more than 11,000 food rations, was launched this morning, after two A400 aircraft took off from the Zaragoza Air Base yesterday, Tuesday 26th March, carrying the relief supplies. The operation has been jointly 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 in the operation.
Spain insists on the opening of land crossings as a necessary measure to avoid a famine situation in the Gaza Strip. The massive entry 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, which is what 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 predicts worsening malnutrition rates unless aid is scaled up and reaches the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations. Meanwhile, humanitarian access to the population is insufficient to address the famine emergency and lack of access to basic services such as water and sanitation, health, shelter and so forth.
Spain's commitment
Since the conflict began on 7 October, at least 31,998 Palestinians have died in the Gaza Strip. Of these, almost 70% are women and children. Another 74,188 people are estimated to have been injured during the same time period.
Spain's commitment to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees is strong and continuous. In 2023, Spain tripled its support to Palestine over 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, thus enabling the agency to maintain its activities in the short term with a contribution of at least 23.5 million euros.