On the afternoon of July 25th COGAT announced the resumption of airdrops of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
Within minutes the following entries appeared on a BBC News website ‘live page’ which currently goes under the headline “Gazans tell BBC of air drop fears as aid agencies call plan ‘grotesque distraction’”.
Within an hour, the BBC had decided that such airdrops are “problematic”.
In the hours that followed, readers of that live page saw additional entries related to that story titled:
“How aid airdrops in Gaza have gone wrong in the past” – Merlyn Thomas, BBC Verify
“Jordan still waiting for permission to carry out airdrops, official tells BBC” – Lyse Doucet
“Airdropping aid into Gaza a ‘distraction to inaction’ – UN” (quoting UNRWA’s Phillipe Lazzarini)
“UN says Gaza aid air drops ‘inefficient’ as UK hints at joining aid delivery efforts”
“’We will do everything we can’ to get aid into Gaza by air – Keir Starmer”
“Israel appears more interested in dismissing criticism than addressing the crisis” – Hugo Bachega
“Yesterday, an Israeli official said countries would be allowed to drop aid by air, an announcement that the UN rejected as a distraction. And it does feel this is more like a PR exercise to alleviate some of international pressure rather than a meaningful decision to really help Palestinians in Gaza in a significant way.”
“Air drops ‘insufficient’ given level of desperation in Gaza, MSF worker warns” (quotes MSF interview with BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’)
“UK planning for Gaza aid air drops begins” – Helen Catt
“24 hours in Gaza – what’s been happening?”
“As we wait to learn more about how the proposed air drops of aid in Gaza might work, let’s have a look at some of the latest developments of the last 24 hours:
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- Israel says foreign countries will be able to supply aid to Gaza via air drops in the coming days, with Jordan and the UAE tipped to conduct this latest round – but details on when and how the drops will happen aren’t available yet
- The UK is committing to do “everything we can” to get aid to Gaza via air drops, according to Prime Minister Keir Starmer
- But the UN warns this type of delivery is “expensive and inefficient”, while Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says vulnerable people will struggle to access the dropped supplies amid likely chaotic scenes“
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“Unrwa chief: Air drops ‘a distraction’ that won’t reverse deepening starvation in Gaza” (quotes UNRWA’s Phillipe Lazzarini)
“I’ve seen families killed by aid falling from the sky” – Jeremy Bowen
“Aid agencies say air drops into Gaza ‘grotesque distraction’ – but better than nothing” – Joe Inwood
“Palestinians react to aid air drop plans: ‘This method is unsafe’” – BBC Arabic
“Air drops – and who receives them – would be nearly impossible to regulate” – Joe Inwood
“Malnutrition worsens in Gaza as aid agencies criticise Israeli aid air drop plan” – Thomas Mackintosh
In other words, in 28 and-a-half hours, visitors to that BBC News website ‘live page’ saw eighteen entries relating to the topic of airdrops, the majority of which presented that method of delivering humanitarian aid as a bad thing.
While some of those entries amplified opposition from UNRWA, assorted ‘aid agencies’ and anonymous Palestinians, readers of that ‘live page’ were not informed that another opponent of the plan to resume airdrops is Hamas.
The same narrative was evident in reports appearing on the BBC News website between July 25th and July 28th.
“Almost a third of people in Gaza not eating for days, UN food programme warns” Maia Davies, 25/7/25
“This came after an Israeli security official had said that airdrops of aid into Gaza could be allowed in the coming days – something aid agencies have previously cautioned is an inefficient way to get supplies into Gaza. […]
The UN has described the move as a “distraction to inaction” by the Israeli government.”
“UK working to get aid dropped into Gaza, Starmer says” Euan O’Byrne Mulligan, 26/7/25
“On Friday, Israel said it would allow foreign countries to deliver air supplies in the coming days amid mounting international concern about humanitarian conditions in the territory.
However, the UN and aid groups have consistently said airdrops will not get sufficient supplies into Gaza, while the falling crates can cause injury and chaos on the ground.”
“Gaza air drops ‘a grotesque distraction’, aid agencies warn” Joe Inwood, 27/7/25
“The focus on air drops into Gaza is a “grotesque distraction” that will not reverse the territory’s deepening starvation crisis, aid agency leaders have warned. […]
The head of the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa, Philippe Lazzarini, said earlier on Saturday that air drops are “expensive, inefficient, and can even kill starving civilians” if they go awry.
Lazzarini said his organisation had “the equivalent of 6,000 trucks” in Jordan and Egypt, waiting for the “green light” to enter Gaza.
He said political will is required to “lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need”.
“Driving aid through is much easier, more effective, faster, cheaper & safer. It’s more dignified for the people of Gaza,” Lazzarini wrote.”
“Israel says it will open routes to allow aid convoys into Gaza” Ruth Comerford and Alex Boyd, 26/7/25
“Earlier on Sunday, the IDF said an aid airdrop “was carried out in co-ordination with international organisations and led by Cogat”, referring to the Israeli military body which oversees the entry of aid into Gaza.
The military also posted a video purportedly showing a plane dropping the aid. The footage has not been independently verified.” [see the video footage that the BBC could not ‘independently verify’ here]
“Bowen: Air dropping aid is an act of desperation that won’t end hunger in Gaza” Jeremy Bowen, 26/7/25
“In other wars I have seen aid being dropped, both from the aircraft themselves and close up on the ground as it lands.
It is a crude process, that will not on its own do much to end hunger in Gaza. Only a ceasefire and an unrestricted, long term aid operation can do that.”
“Malnutrition in Gaza at alarming levels, WHO warns as aid airdrops resume” Ruth Comerford, 27/7/25
“UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “Whilst air drops will help to alleviate the worst of the suffering, land routes serve as the only viable and sustainable means of providing aid into Gaza.””
“‘We need a real solution’: Gazans welcome aid plan but fear it will not end crisis” Rushdi Abualouf, 27/7/25
“Jordan and the UAE also say they have a plan, backed by the UK, to drop aid into the territory, but aid agencies have said such moves would do little to mitigate the hunger of Gazans.”
“Bowen: Israel’s aid measures a gesture to allies horrified by Gaza starvation” Jeremy Bowen, 27/7/25
“It [Israel] is allowing airdrops of aid, carrying out the first one itself during the night and allowing the United Arab Emirates air force to follow with another later on Sunday.
The IDF also announced that it would allow a “tactical pause in military activity” in some areas and set up “designated humanitarian corridors… to refute the false claim on intentional starvation.”
Hamas has condemned the moves as a “deception”. Israel, it said, was “whitewashing its image before the world”.”
“Israel released grainy footage of a transport plane dropping pallets of aid into Gaza. Lines of parachutes billowed out the back of the aircraft in the dark of the night. The IDF said it had delivered seven packages of aid containing flour, sugar and tinned food.
In other wars I have seen aid being dropped, both from the aircraft themselves and close up on the ground as it lands.
Air dropping aid is an act of desperation. It can also look good on television, and spread a feel-good factor that something, at last, is being done.
It is a crude process, that will not on its own do much to end hunger in Gaza. Only a ceasefire and an unrestricted, long term aid operation can do that. Even big transport planes do not carry as much as a small convoy of lorries.”
“Watch: BBC’s Jeremy Bowen goes onboard a plane dropping aid into Gaza”, 28/7/25
“Humanitarian groups have repeatedly said airdrops will not get sufficient supplies into Gaza, and have called for more trucks to be allowed in.”
The BBC also promoted the same narrative on other platforms – for example in the July 26th edition of the BBC World Service’s ‘Global News Podcast’, which included an interview with a WFP representative.
“But there are fears that airdrops will not be enough and that they could actually pose a threat to Palestinians on the ground.”
Of course, none of the countries which have so far chosen to devote resources to enable airdrops of foodstuffs into the Gaza Strip have claimed that method alone will provide “enough” humanitarian aid. As should be obvious, that route of aid supply comes alongside additional ones.
But the BBC is clearly not interested in providing its audiences with an accurate and impartial picture of the situation regarding humanitarian aid and the connection between that topic and Hamas’ latest rejection of the ceasefire that Jeremy Bowen tells BBC audiences is needed in order to “end hunger in Gaza”.
Instead – as was the case with another aid distribution project opposed by Hamas, assorted UN bodies and ‘aid groups’ – the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – the BBC chose to flood its various platforms with negative framing of airdrops, even before operations had begun.
Well obviously the real aim of dropping aid into Gaza is to kill children, says yet another BBC Hamas-Iran spokesperson…
the BBC hasn’t even yet retracted or apologised for publishing footage of ‘starving Gazan children’ who are emaciated due to suffering from genetic diseases