“Faced with the absolute urgency, we have just conducted a food airdrop operation in Gaza. Thank you to our Jordanian, Emirati, and German partners for their support, and to our military personnel for their commitment,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media platform X.

“Airdrops are not enough. Israel must open full humanitarian access to address the risk of famine,” he added.

Foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot earlier in the day had told broadcaster franceinfo that France was sending four flights carrying 10 tonnes of humanitarian aid each to Gaza from Jordan.

A global hunger monitor said on Tuesday that a famine scenario was unfolding in the Gaza Strip, with malnutrition soaring, children under five dying of hunger-related causes and humanitarian access severely restricted.

France participated six times in the European humanitarian airlift set up in mid-Oct 2023 by the EU to Jordan and Egypt to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, Macron’s office said.

The European airlift enabled the organisation of more than 60 flights carrying over 3,350 tonnes of humanitarian cargo, with most of the donations in-kind transiting through Egypt and Jordan, according to Macron’s office.

Part of this aid has still not entered Gaza due to a lack of agreement from the Israeli authorities, the president’s office said.