China's aid claims questioned as Israel finally permits U.N. trucks into Gaza
- In March 2025, Israel announced it would stop allowing goods and supplies into Gaza, leading to a humanitarian crisis.
- Misinformation about alleged Chinese airdrops circulated, but evidence was inconclusive and often misrepresented past events.
- On May 19, 2025, Israel permitted the first U.N. aid trucks to cross into Gaza since the blockade began, indicating a potential easing of restrictions.
In May 2025, amid rising tensions and humanitarian crises, claims circulated regarding a purported Chinese airdrop of humanitarian aid over the Gaza Strip. Earlier in March 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel would cease allowing goods and supplies to enter Gaza, leading to significant humanitarian issues in the region. As a result, humanitarian aid from various sources was stalled for weeks, raising alarms about the welfare of those living within Gaza's boundaries. Claims began circulating that Chinese authorities had managed to circumvent the Israeli blockade with a daring airdrop, which allegedly happened between May 10 and May 19, 2025. However, verification of these claims proved elusive; the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the Palestine Red Crescent Society, the World Health Organization, and other key agencies were contacted to confirm the reports, but the evidence remained inconclusive. A TikTok video surfaced, showing a Chinese plane purportedly dropping aid, but it included footage from previous events, suggesting possible misinformation or misrepresentation in the media. Notably, an old video clip from a U.S. airdrop in April 2024 was utilized in the TikTok montage, indicating that the narrative might be an amalgamation of older and unrelated events. Additionally, despite the claims, documentation from the China International Development Cooperation Agency did not confirm that China conducted any air operations to deliver aid during the Israeli blockade. Instead, Chinese state media reported that aid delivered to Gaza consisted of 60,000 food parcels, which entered through land channels rather than by air. On May 19, 2025, the situation shifted as the Israeli Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories publicly announced that it would allow five U.N. aid trucks to pass into Gaza—the first trucks authorized to enter since the blockade's introduction in March. This development marked a crucial moment for humanitarian efforts in Gaza, as organizations sought to address the dire needs of the population amidst ongoing conflict and restrictions. The combination of misinformation and restrictions highlights the complexity of the humanitarian landscape, where both political and social factors intersect to impact aid delivery.