Gazans are reportedly drowning after rushing to drop aid into the sea

The Hamas-run government media office in Gaza said 18 Palestinians were killed while trying to collect badly needed aid that was airdropped over northern Gaza.

A statement said that 12 people drowned when they went to the sea to retrieve food parcels, while six others were trampled to death in “stampedes” when other aid parcels fell to the ground.

He calls for an “immediate halt” to airdrops, describing them as “offensive, wrong, inappropriate and useless.”

A video obtained by Reuters showed Palestinians rushing to the coast after dropping aid on a beach near the northern town of Beit Lahia on Monday.

The video shows people running as dozens of aid packages tied to parachutes float near the coast.

Israel – which is under pressure to allow more aid into Gaza by land – says it facilitated an airdrop of 159 one-ton aid packages over northern Gaza on Monday.

The US says two C-17 planes dropped 46,000 “ready-to-eat meals” over the North on Monday, while the UK says one of its A400M planes dropped 10 tonnes of water, rice, cooking oil, flour, tinned goods and canned food. Baby formula.

Humanitarian organizations have warned that airdrops cannot meet the growing needs for food and people in need The strategy has sparked considerable debate.