The US has begun dropping humanitarian aid over the Gaza Strip. The US military’s Central Command (Centcom) said three military transport planes dropped 66 packages containing 38,000 meals. Also Jordanwhich has been dropping aid supplies over the Palestinian territory for a long time, took part in the campaign.
According to eyewitnesses, relief supplies were dropped over the city, among other places Gaza in the north of the coastal strip and over Rafah in the south. Senior US government officials said the operation was successful. The drop points were observed and civilians were seen approaching and distributing relief supplies among themselves. The success of the campaign was an important test run for similar operations “in the coming days and weeks”. The preparations for this were already underway.
Centcom said the deployment was expected to be the first of many. A US Central Command official told the AFP news agency that this was intended to help civilians “affected by the ongoing conflict.”
Kirby: Large-scale operation planned for weeks
According to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, the US government is planning a large-scale operation that is expected to last weeks. However, dropping relief supplies over such a densely populated area would be “extremely difficult,” he said. The operation must be carefully planned to ensure the safety of the US soldiers involved as well as that of the Palestinian civilians.
Jordan has been dropping aid supplies over the Gaza Strip since November, including together with France and the Netherlands. Egypt has also begun such an airlift a few days ago. The flights are coordinated with Israel. UN organizations point out that such drops could bring some relief to the emergency, but that the quantities overall are too small. In addition, all order has collapsed in the affected areas of Gaza as a result of the war.
US President Joe Biden announced on Friday evening that, in addition to the airlift, his country also wanted to examine the possibility of a shipping corridor to bring large quantities of aid supplies to the Gaza Strip. Biden said he would also “insist” to the Israeli government that more aid convoys be allowed into the Palestinian territory. The aid that has been delivered to the Gaza Strip so far is “far from enough.” “Innocent lives are at stake,” he said.
The US has begun dropping humanitarian aid over the Gaza Strip. The US military’s Central Command (Centcom) said three military transport planes dropped 66 packages containing 38,000 meals. Also Jordanwhich has been dropping aid supplies over the Palestinian territory for a long time, took part in the campaign.
According to eyewitnesses, relief supplies were dropped over the city, among other places Gaza in the north of the coastal strip and over Rafah in the south. Senior US government officials said the operation was successful. The drop points were observed and civilians were seen approaching and distributing relief supplies among themselves. The success of the campaign was an important test run for similar operations “in the coming days and weeks”. The preparations for this were already underway.