Athens (AFP)
Greece on Saturday joined EU countries in dropping food aid over Gaza, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.
"This morning, two aircraft of the Hellenic Air Force dropped 8.5 tonnes of essential food supplies in areas of Gaza," Mitsotakis said on Facebook.
"The operation was organised in collaboration with countries from the European Union and the Middle East, aiming to support the basic needs of people in the afflicted region."
"Greece will continue to undertake initiatives for the immediate cessation of hostilities, the release of hostages, and the unhindered flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. It is the duty of all of us to put an end to human suffering immediately," he said.
Western countries including Britain, France, and Spain have recently partnered with Middle Eastern nations to deliver humanitarian supplies by air.
But the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees Philippe Lazzarini has warned that airdrops alone would not avert the worsening hunger.
The UN estimates that Gaza needs at least 600 trucks of aid per day to meet residents' basic needs.
Concern has escalated about the situation in the Gaza Strip after more than 21 months of war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces mounting pressure to secure a ceasefire to bring the territory's more than two million people back from the brink of famine.