JERUSALEM/AMMAN, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- A total of 161 packages containing food were airdropped over the Gaza Strip on Sunday during an aid operation carried out by nine countries, the Israeli military said, as famine continues to spread in the enclave after nearly two years of war.

Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark and Indonesia joined the airdrop operation, the military said.

Meanwhile, the Jordanian Armed Forces said in a statement that about 106 tonnes of food and relief supplies were dropped during the operation.

Israel's army said the operation was coordinated "in accordance with the directives from the political echelon," while rejecting accusations of deliberate starvation.

The military began coordinating the airdrop of food packages in late July, under mounting international pressure as famine deepened in the enclave.

Experts and aid groups have called the drops inadequate, unsafe and ineffective in preventing the spread of famine, urging Israel to allow more aid trucks in and to enable the rebuilding of Gaza's health system, which has been largely destroyed by Israeli strikes.

Gaza-based health authorities said famine is spreading, with hospitals reporting seven deaths in the past 24 hours, including two children, from hunger and malnutrition. That brought the total deaths from starvation to 258, among them 110 children. Enditem