US plans to airdrop aid into Gaza Strip

Biden announced the move after at least 115 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 others wounded on Thursday

WASHINGTON: The United States plans to begin airdrops of aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip in the coming days, President Joe Biden announced.

“We’re going to join with our friends in providing airdrops,” Biden told reporters at the White House.

He also said the flow of aid into Gaza was insufficient and that he wanted hundreds more aid trucks to get into the enclave.

“Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere near enough,” Biden added. “Innocent lives are on the line and children’s lives are on the line.”

Israel supported the international airdrop efforts, according to White House spokesperson John Kirby.

“The Israelis have tried airdrops themselves and they’re supportive of our efforts to do the same,” he said.

Biden announced the move after at least 115 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 others wounded on Thursday, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, when witnesses said nearby Israeli troops opened fire as huge crowds rushed to pull goods from an aid convoy.

Jordan has been leading airdrops over Gaza since the war broke out in collaboration with Israel. Recently, other countries have joined these operations, including France, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that her country also wanted to be involved in the humanitarian airdrop efforts.

Jordan airdrops food aid into northern Gaza

Jordan’s armed forces said three of its air force planes on Friday dropped food aid into the northern Gaza Strip.

The packages were expected to help roughly 6,000 people,

Jordan’s al-Mamlaka television reported.

Jordan has been leading operations to airdrop humanitarian relief and food aid into the Gaza Strip since the war broke out and collaborated the drops with Israel, which checks the aid that does reach Palestinians.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement Thursday that Germany also wanted to participate in airdropping food and other aid into the Gaza Strip.

Death toll in the Gaza Strip rises to 30,320

The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,320, the Health Ministry said in a press statement on Saturday.

During the past 24 hours, the Israeli army killed 92 Palestinians and wounded 156 others, bringing the total death toll to 30,320 and injuries to 71,533 since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the statement.

Among them, 15 died in AlAqsa Hospital in the city of Deir al-Balah due to an Israeli airstrike targeting two houses, and two others were killed in an airstrike targeting a house in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip. —