The US military executed its inaugural humanitarian aid airdrop into Gaza, utilizing three C-130 planes, as disclosed by two anonymous US officials on Saturday (March 2).
The airdrop involved more than 35,000 meals, and the White House affirmed its commitment to sustaining these efforts, noting Israel’s support for the initiative.
In solidarity, several nations, including France, Egypt, and Jordan, have also conducted airdrops to provide aid to Gaza.
The gravity of the situation in the Gaza Strip is underscored by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, reporting that at least 576,000 people, constituting a quarter of the enclave’s population, are on the brink of famine.
Disturbingly, individuals resorting to consuming animal feed for survival and reports from medics highlighting cases of children succumbing to malnutrition and dehydration have prompted the U.N. to acknowledge “overwhelming obstacles” in delivering essential aid.
Earlier on Friday, United States President Joe Biden said that the country will start airdropping food and supplies as part of humanitarian aid into Gaza in the days ahead.
On Thursday (Feb 29), a huge crowd of people in North Gaza rushed towards food aid trucks after which the Israeli forces guarding those trucks opened fire at them.
“The loss of life is heartbreaking. People are so desperate that innocent people got caught in a terrible war unable to feed their families, and you saw the response when they tried to get aid in,” Biden said.
He added, “And we need to do more in the United States, will do more. In the coming days, we’re going to join with our friends in Jordan and others in providing airdrops.”
“In addition to expanding deliveries by land, as I said, we’re gonna — we’re gonna insist that Israel facilitate more trucks and more routes to get more and more people the help they need. No excuses because the truth is, aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough,” the US president further said.
(With inputs from agencies)
