The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Friday it had airdropped humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip in coordination with several countries.
“Over the past few hours, 126 aid packages, containing food for the residents of both the southern and northern Gaza Strip, were airdropped by six different countries,” the IDF said in a statement.
The operation involved the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Spain, France and Germany. This marked the first such joint mission with the three European nations.
Amid growing international criticism over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir rejected allegations that Israel was deliberately starving civilians.
“The false campaign about starvation these days is a deliberate, coordinated and deceitful attempt aimed at accusing the IDF — a moral army — of war crimes,” Zamir said.
“The party responsible for the killing and suffering of Gaza’s residents is Hamas. IDF soldiers and commanders act with morality and integrity, in accordance with the IDF’s spirit and international law.”
Zamir also commented on ongoing hostage negotiations, stating that military operations would continue regardless of any partial deal.
“I estimate that in the coming days we will know whether we can reach a partial deal for the release of our hostages,” he told commanders. “If not, the fighting will continue without pause.”
Meanwhile, the IDF confirmed it would maintain targeted strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon despite the November 2024 ceasefire, with the goal of fully disarming the group — even at the risk of renewed conflict.
According to the IDF, Hezbollah’s military capabilities have been severely reduced. The group, once believed to have around 150,000 rockets and tens of thousands of launchers, now reportedly has only a few thousand launchers left and has seen its rocket arsenal cut by 70 to 80 per cent, The Jerusalem Post reported.
As a result, Hezbollah’s ability to launch large-scale rocket attacks has dropped dramatically — from a potential 1,500 rockets at once to just a few dozen now. “Hezbollah also has lost virtually all of its multiple rocket launching platforms,” IDF officials said.
The group’s operational flexibility has also been restricted, with attacks now relying on individual launchers that are more exposed and vulnerable. Although Hezbollah still has some long-range precision rockets, IDF control over key launch zones — many of which have been hit — has made their use more difficult.
Smuggling routes through Syria have also been disrupted.
Syria’s new Sunni regime is actively blocking most of Iran’s weapons transfers to Hezbollah, which the IDF says has dealt the group a significant blow.
To monitor and counter threats, the IDF has carried out up to five strikes on cross-border areas between Syria and Lebanon.
While the group’s top leadership is currently deterred, Israeli military officials remain concerned about Iran’s continued support — estimated at USD 1 billion annually — compared with USD 250 million in Western aid to Lebanon.
Since the ceasefire, the IDF has conducted more than 500 attacks on Hezbollah targets, including the elimination of 230 operatives, the destruction of 90 rocket launchers, 20 strikes on bases and outposts, 40 hits on weapons storage sites, and three targeted operations against elite Radwan force training camps.
Israeli intelligence estimates that 4,000 to 5,000 Hezbollah fighters have been killed and around 9,000 permanently incapacitated — more than half of Hezbollah’s standing force of 25,000.
“Hezbollah was also said to have tens of thousands more reservist fighters, but IDF sources estimate that only 10 per cent of them are still active now." The elite Radwan force has shrunk from 6,000 to between 2,500 and 3,000 fighters, now focusing mostly on internal security.
The IDF maintains that Hezbollah no longer poses a threat of a large-scale invasion. While small-scale attacks remain possible, the risk of a massive coordinated incursion has been neutralised for the foreseeable future.
Praising U.S. efforts to manage ceasefire breaches, the IDF said the current dispute resolution process has worked more effectively than previous UNIFIL-led attempts.
Of the 1,263 violations submitted by the IDF, 456 were handled internally and 666 passed to the Lebanese army, which resolved 82 per cent of them.
Follow us
