The lifeline extended by the UAE to Gaza continues to strongly support the residents of the Strip amid fears of a worsening severe hunger crisis.

On Saturday, the country carried out the 60th airdrop of aid as part of the“Operation Birds of Goodness", to assist Palestinians in the enclave, as alarming numbers continue to shed light on the dire humanitarian situation there.

The operation was conducted in cooperation with Jordan and with the participation of France, Germany, and Italy. On Friday, a similar airdrop mission was accomplished, led by the UAE and Jordan, alongside seven aircraft from France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

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In total, the amount of aid airdropped on the enclave has exceeded 3,807 tonnes, comprising various food and relief materials.

Take a look at a video of today's operation:

'Thank you, UAE'

A hunger monitor said recently that a worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding in Gaza, and immediate action is needed to avoid widespread death.

The alert by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) raised the prospect that the starvation crisis in Gaza could be formally classified as a famine, in the hope that this might raise the pressure on Israel to let in far more food.

A video of Saturday's mission in Gaza showed some Palestinians scrambling to take some of the aid packages airdropped from aeroplanes. Holding plastic bags of bread and canned food items, women are seen packing the relief supplies.

Many Gazans expressed gratitude for the Emirati help.

"Thank you, UAE. We won a bag of flour. God bless," a smiling Palestinian child said.

"They brought things we saw for the first time, like dates, ghee and meat.. These are things we missed since the first day of Ramadan," a man said, referring to the food items he got.

In addition to delivering food supplies via air, the UAE also delivered 22 medical aid trucks on Saturday with medicines and medical supplies, in coordination with the World Health Organisation (WHO).

(With inputs from Reuters)

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