Ankara: France announced Tuesday that it will airdrop a total of 40 tons of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip starting Friday. "We will organize, starting Friday and in close coordination with Jordanian authorities, four flights carrying 10 tons of food each into the Gaza Strip," Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told French broadcaster BFM TV, as he is co-chairing a high-level conference on a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict at UN headquarters in New York.

According to Anadolu Agency, Barrot emphasized that the air route is "useful" but "not sufficient," as 52 metric tons of French humanitarian cargo are currently blocked just a few kilometers from the Gaza Strip. He stressed the importance of the Israeli authorities agreeing to reopen land access to Gaza in a meaningful way to alleviate the suffering of the civilian population there.

Barrot further stated that they had achieved and "even exceeded" their initial goals by creating momentum with Britain's announcement that it is considering recognizing the state of Palestine. "Other countries are following suit," Barrot added, highlighting that they have revived the political horizon for the two-state solution, which was nearing collapse.