PARIS, France (AFP) – President Emmanuel Macron said Friday France had carried out its first airdrop of humanitarian supplies into Gaza, after United Nation-backed experts warn the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian territory was slipping into famine.

“Faced with an urgent humanitarian crisis, we just conducted a food airdrop over Gaza,” Macron said in English on X.

“But airdrops are not enough. Israel must grant full humanitarian access to address the risk of famine,” he said.

He thanked France’s Jordanian, Emirati, and German partners for their support.

Several tonnes of food supplies will be delivered to Gaza “over several days”, the French foreign and defence ministries said in a joint statement.

“France is also working on land transport, by far the most effective solution for the large-scale and unhindered delivery of humanitarian goods desperately needed by the population,” the statement added.

France will air-drop 40 tonnes of aid into Gaza from Friday, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said earlier this week.

Concern has escalated in the past week about hunger in the Gaza Strip after more than 21 months of war, which started after Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a deadly attack against Israel in October 2023.