In late July 2025, mounting international pressure on Israel to allow aid into Gaza given widespread starvation resulted in aid air drops facilitated by Jordan and the UAE beginning on July 27.
Following this drop of more than 25 tons of aid, a claim spread online that aid packages that landed by parachute injured 11 people.
One such X post received more than 37,900 views, as of this writing (archived). The claim also spread to other platforms, including Facebook (archived), Bluesky (archived) and Reddit (archived).
According to Hani Mahmoud, an Al Jazeera reporter on the ground in Gaza, this initial drop did injure 11 people upon impact as one of the pallets — which can weigh up to 2,000 pounds, according to a report by think tank The Washington Institute — landed directly on tents housing displaced Gazans.
While there is currently no primary evidence confirming that 11 people suffered injuries on July 27, people suffering injuries or even dying as a result of air drops is an observed and repeated issue that the United Nations and other aid organizations have historically documented.
"Hani Mahmoud reported that one aid drop injured nearly a dozen people. 'Eleven people were reported with injuries as one of these pallets fell directly on tents in that displacement site near al-Rasheed Road,'" an Al Jazeera story from July 27 read.
A different Al Jazeera story, also from July 27, claimed that "medical sources" also confirmed that the aid pallets injured 11 Palestinians in northern Gaza.
Israel air drops aid into Gaza, injuring at least 11 people
Hani Mahmoud Reporting from Gaza City, Gaza
As far as we can determine, these "still photos" Mahmoud claimed to have seen are not publicly available. We reached out to Al Jazeera seeking information regarding these alleged photos, and will update this story if we receive a response.
Al-Rasheed Road — where Al Jazeera said the drop injured 11 people — is a long coastal road, and there are publicly available Getty Images depicting the tents for displaced Gazans Mahmoud claimed the packages fell on.
(Getty Images)
The next day, on July 28, Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the Secretary-General, held a news conference in which he confirmed the report, saying "Air drops have resumed in Gaza yesterday. While we welcome all efforts to provide aid to the people who desperately need it, U.N. agencies and partners remind us air drops are the last resort measure and carry risks for people on the ground. Injuries were reported yesterday when packages fell on tents" (at minute 4:55):