ISRAEL has threatened to cut off aid drops to Gaza if the international media uses the flights to film the embattled region from above, reports say.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has consistently refused to let any international media into the [[Gaza]] strip – where Israel is accused of committing genocide – and more than one in 10 local reporters have been killed since the October 7 attacks, according to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
Amid mounting international pressure due to allegations of a man-made famine inside Gaza, Israel announced on Sunday that its military would pause operations in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, and Muwasi for 10 hours a day and allow airdrops into Gaza.
Sky News joined an aid drop conducted by Jordan’s military, but were told they were not allowed to film Gaza from above.
“Monday's flight came with strict media conditions,” the outlet reported. “We were told the Israeli side had warned that any shots of Gaza filmed from the air could result in these aid flights being cancelled.
“But Israel's tight grip has not stopped the images from Gaza getting out, horrifying people around the world. The question now is what more the international community will do about it.”
The UK Government has been consistently sending spy planes over Gaza since the October 7 attacks, but has refused to release any images captured, even on days when British aid workers were killed by Israeli strikes.
On Monday, two leading Israeli human rights groups published conclusions that Israel is committing a genocide against the Palestinians.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Gaza’s health ministry said that more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the 21-months that Israel has besieged the region.
The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, said the death toll has climbed to 60,034, with another 145,870 people wounded since the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023.
The ministry is staffed by medical professionals. The United Nations and other independent experts view its figures as the most reliable count of casualties.
Israel’s offensive has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced around 90% of the population and caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.
As international organisations warn of a “worst-case scenario of famine”, Israel continued to strike the Gaza Strip, killing at least 70 Palestinians in the past day, according to local hospitals.
More than half were killed while attempting to access aid, hospitals said, and includes a rising toll from a deadly incident on Monday as people attempted to access aid from a truck convoy passing through the southern Gaza Strip.
An additional seven Palestinians were killed while attempting to access aid near the American and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) site in central Gaza, according to local hospitals.
Air strikes also targeted tents hosting displaced people in the central city of Nuseirat, killing 30 people, including 12 children and 14 women, according to Al-Awda hospital.
