Old clip of aid drop to Gaza falsely claimed as Chinese assistance in May

An old video of people running towards airdropped boxes has circulated in social media posts falsely claiming it shows China dropping aid in Gaza in May 2025. The clip has in fact circulated online since September 2024, while China's last delivery of aid to Gaza occurred in February, both predating Israel's March blockade of the territory.

"Chinese aid supplies were airdropped to Gaza. This is not Saudi Arabia’s $600 billion. This is not Qatar's $1.2 trillion. This is not the UAE's $1.4 trillion. This is the aid that China airdropped to Gaza today,” read a simplified X post published May 18, 2025.

The accompanying video shows people running towards boxes being parachuted in among some ruins.

The video circulated online as Palestinians scrambled for basic supplies after Israel imposed a near-total blockade on March 2.

Israel resumed military operations in Gaza on March 18 after talks to prolong a ceasefire stalled. It briefly allowed nine trucks carrying basic aid into the besieged territory on May 19, but humanitarian groups have said the amount falls far short of what is required to ease the crisis (archived link).

Food security experts say starvation is looming for one in five people in Gaza (archived link).

Similar claims about the video depicting Chinese aid in May surfaced in other Chinese posts, as well as in English and Hindi.

However, China's last shipment of humanitarian aid to Gaza predates Israel's blockade. It was shipped from Jordan through a land port on February 18, according to state news agency Xinhua (archived link).

The clip also circulated months before Israel blocked aid to Gaza.

A reverse image search led to an earlier version published on TikTok by a Palestinian user calling for aid on September 16, 2024 (archived link).

AFP has debunked other misinformation about China airdropping aid into Gaza in May here.