Is China providing aid to Gaza as fighter jets seen delivering humanitarian assistance in viral footage

Despite viral videos, particularly TikTok, showing fighter jets dropping aid into Gaza, fact-checks confirm these do not depict Chinese aircraft delivering humanitarian assistance.

The footage circulating online shows US C-17 airdrops from March 2024. According to reports, China does not operate the C-17 regiment and has no known aerial delivery in Gaza.

However, according to Xinhua News, China did send humanitarian assistance to the area through established, documented channels. In February this year, China shipped 60,000 food parcels to Jordan, which were then forwarded to Gaza by the Red Crescent and World Food Programme by land.

Separately, aid airdrops into Gaza from international forces, mostly US and Jordanian aircraft, have experienced dangerous incidents in which the parachutes failed to open properly, resulting in deaths and injuries in March 2024.

Israel has imposed a complete blockade since March 2, halting all supplies including food, medicine, and water, into Gaza, marking the longest total closure on record. This resulted in the collapse of essential services, with the United Nations estimating nearly half a million people face famine, with 66,000 children suffering severe malnutrition.

The UN also warned up to 14,000 babies could die within 48 hours without aid. Israel, in response, allowed the first five aid trucks to enter Gaza on May 19 with 100 more trucks approved, but the UN warned this is still far below pre-crisis levels.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy called the blockade “cruel and indefensible,” and threatened sanctions unless restrictions were lifted. The UK has also suspended negotiations with the Israeli government on a new free trade agreement.

Since the war broke out on October 7, 2023, over 53,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.