Royal Air Force completes 11th Gaza airdrop, with 110 tonnes of vital aid now delivered
The Royal Air Force has carried out its 11th airdrop into Gaza, having now delivered a total of 110 tonnes of aid.
The aid cargoes encompass a range of essential supplies, including ready-to-eat meals, water, rice, tinned goods and flour.
The RAF began conducting airdrops in late March using its Airbus A400M Atlas aircraft, dropping pallets laden with supplies by parachute.
The latest aid delivery involved dropping 12 tonnes into northern Gaza, flying via Jordan from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
On board during the drop was Lance Corporal Alex White from 13 Air Assault Brigade, who described his experience as surreal.
"Very proud to be honest that I've been a part of this operation delivering aid to some people who needed it in Gaza," he said.
Describing what he could see when flying over Gaza, LCpl White said: "On the Gaza Strip essentially it is just rubble, derelict, no buildings, a lot of people running around from what I could see, little black dots. Like carnage essentially."
Drop zones along the northern coastline of Gaza are meticulously surveyed to ensure the airdrops do not harm any civilians.
However, the quickest way to deliver aid is via land, and the UK is engaging with Israel to open more land crossings into Gaza.
By sea as well as air
Meanwhile, an international effort to construct a pier to get aid into Gaza is also underway, and the British air base in Cyprus is key to its construction.
"We are perfectly placed here in the Eastern Mediterranean as many would describe as a noisy neighbourhood and we are here ultimately to be a force for good," said the Commander of British Forces Cyprus, Air Vice-Marshal Peter Squires.
He said the priority was to get in as much aid as possible, whether it be by land, sea or air.
"[The pier] is a great initiative again given the strategic location of the island, that we are going to get aid put it onto a pier and get it into Gaza as fast as possible," he said.
"And the UK particularly supported by the British forces here will be a part of the planning and construction of that pier and also supporting the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ships that will be coming in to help."
RFA Cardigan Bay is providing accommodation to hundreds of American soldiers and sailors in the eastern Mediterranean to help support the international effort to build the pier.
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