Samaritan’s Purse flies tons of nutrient-dense food to Gaza

The North Carolina-based charity airlifted more than 48 tons of ready-to-use food supplies to families suffering in Gaza, Samaritan’s Purse said in a Monday statement. The Christian aid group’s DC-8 and 757 cargo aircraft launched from Greensboro, N.C. over the weekend and arrived in Israel early Monday morning with life-saving, nutrient-dense food packets provided by MANA. The packets will be transported into Gaza and distributed to needy families by trusted partners, the release added.

Innocent families in both Gaza and Israel are suffering from this conflict, and many lives have been lost, said Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham. These food supplies are a tangible reminder that God sees their suffering and He has not forgotten them, he added. Graham asked the public to join him in praying for peace over the Middle East. Samaritan’s Purse is preparing to send more aid flights with food supplies into the region later this week, the group added.

How much Gaza aid has Samaritan's Purse given? The organization has been actively providing life-saving aid to innocent civilians on both sides of the Gaza conflict since Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion, the group noted. It partnered with other nonprofit groups to deliver food, water, and shelter materials, along with other important supplies, to Palestinian families. Samaritan’s Purse said it also offered medical aid, trauma kits, and emergency resources to Israeli families, according to the statement. Just over half of the 42 ambulances Samaritan's Purse pledged to provide have been delivered by Israel's national emergency medical service, replacing those destroyed in Hamas attacks. 

Graham rolled out the relief effort on Monday, the same day that President Donald Trump spoke of opening aid centers in response to real starvation happening within the region. These kids need to be fed, Trump said while meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday. 

Dig deeper: Read my report on what Trump said about the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire during the same sitdown with Starmer.