The German Armed Forces have sent an A400M transport aircraft to the Middle East to drop food over the Gaza Strip.

The aircraft departed the Wunstorf air base in northern Germany on Monday morning, an air force spokesman said.

The A400M is to be deployed over the Palestinian territory for the first time on Wednesday.

The Airbus, which was to replace the aircraft, has already been deployed and would be used as an internationally standardised pallet system.

The pallet system is used so that the aid supplied can be packed by the Bundeswehr itself in the future.

A French pallet system had to be used for the flights with the older C-130 transport aircraft Germany has used to date.

The operation was planned to last several weeks while a jetty to receive aid on Gaza’s coast was being built.

Jordan, which is coordinating the air supply operation, is planning a particularly large drop of relief supplies for Tuesday, at the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The Luftwaffe began dropping aid supplies for the suffering population in the embattled Gaza Strip in mid-March.

Other nations, such as the U.S., are also taking part. Each of the German aircraft deployed so far can transport up to 18 tonnes of cargo. 

(dpa/NAN)