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The US military delivered approximately 38,000 meals to Gaza, two days following the death of over 100 Palestinians who were trying to obtain aid from a convoy.
According to the AP, two US officials reported that three planes successfully delivered 66 food bundles on Saturday morning at approximately 8:30am ET. The Jordanian Air Force also provided humanitarian aid to Gaza by dropping parcels from the sky.
On Friday, President Joe Biden was asked if there will be a stop to the fighting between Israel and Hamas before Ramadan. He responded with the statement, “I’m optimistic. We are continuing to work diligently towards it, but we have not reached an agreement yet.”
Many more airdrops are expected to take place after Mr. Biden’s announcement on Friday that the US will be providing aid to Gaza, with the first one scheduled for Saturday morning. These airdrops will be organized in conjunction with Jordan.
The Gazan Healthy Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, reported that on Thursday, over 115 Palestinians lost their lives and hundreds more were wounded while attempting to obtain aid.
Israel claims that a significant number of people were fatally injured during a panicked rush towards the aid, and that their troops only discharged warning shots after the crowd became hostile towards them.
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The Jordanian Armed Forces’ personnel are getting ready to distribute aid packages to various regions within northern Gaza through air drops, as shown in this undated handout image released on March 1, 2021.
The Jordanian Armed Forces have distributed aid parcels to multiple locations in the northern Gaza region via air drop, as shown in this undated image released on March 1, 2024.
The National Security Council’s spokesperson, John Kirby, stated on Friday that the planned airdrops of emergency aid were a safe method of providing relief. The US believes that the airdrops will help ease the suffering in Gaza, but they cannot fully substitute for trucks entering the area due to their greater capacity. However, the events on Thursday showed the dangers of delivering aid on the ground.
According to Mr. Kirby, airdrops possess the benefit of efficiency by swiftly providing assistance to a specific area. However, he also emphasized that the drops will serve as an addition to, rather than a substitute for, transporting supplies by land.
C-130 cargo planes were utilized by the US to transport aid. The aircraft is capable of lifting up to 42,000 lbs of cargo that can be secured onto pallets and airdropped using parachutes. This method has been utilized to deliver aid in regions such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Haiti.
The Associated Press reported that Israel has restricted the delivery of essential resources, including food, water, medicine, and aid, to Gaza after Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, resulting in approximately 1,200 Israeli casualties. Only a limited number of trucks have been permitted to enter Rafah crossing at the Egypt-Gaza border and the Kerem Shalom crossing at the Israel-Gaza border.
According to the United Nations, approximately 25% of the 2.3 million residents in Gaza are in danger of facing famine. Aid officials have stated that airdrops are a final option and not an effective means of delivering assistance.
Health officials have stated that over 30,000 people in Gaza have lost their lives since the war started.
Source: independent.co.uk
