U.S. plans more airdrops into Gaza
The United States says it plans to airdrop more food aid into Gaza, after completing its first successful drop on Saturday, parachuting in packages that contained more than 38,000 meals intended to help alleviate hunger in the besieged enclave.
The operation marked an expansion of the United States’ direct role in addressing a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza — where a lack of food and acute hunger have forced some people to eat weeds and animal feed — though aid groups have warned that the airdrops are insufficient for the enormous need.
The U.S. Air Force and Royal Jordanian Air Force worked together to drop bundles of ready-to-eat halal meals along the Gaza coastline to allow for civilian access, Central Command said. Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and France have also carried out aerial aid deliveries in recent days.
Centcom said it was “conducting planning for potential follow-on airborne aid delivery missions,” as U.S. officials said they were planning additional airdrops into Gaza and exploring new ways to get desperately needed assistance into the Hamas-controlled enclave, including by sea.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said Sunday that the IDF coordinated with the United States and Jordan to facilitate the airdrop, calling it an “important effort.”
The number of trucks carrying food and essential items into Gaza has plunged in recent weeks following Israeli airstrikes that have targeted police officers who guard the convoys. Aid groups such as the World Food Program have also suspended deliveries to the north, where the need is greatest, citing lack of security.
The United Nations says 1 in 4 people in Gaza face “catastrophic levels of food insecurity.” Gaza’s Health Ministry said Sunday that 15 children died from malnutrition and dehydration at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza. The Washington Post could not independently verify the report.
Meanwhile, talks on a cease-fire proposal are ongoing.
There is “a deal on the table” that Israel has “more or less accepted” and is awaiting a response from Hamas, a State Department official said during a Saturday briefing to journalists, under the condition of anonymity set by the State Department. The proposal calls for increased aid deliveries on the ground and a six-week pause in fighting, during which sick, wounded, female and elderly hostages in Gaza would be released. U.S. officials hope a cease-fire can begin before the holy month of Ramadan, which is set to start around March 10.
Delegations from Hamas, Qatar and the United States were in Cairo Sunday for a new round of negotiations, Egyptian state-run TV channel Al Qahera reported Sunday. Israel will not send a high-level delegation to Egypt for more cease-fire talks until Hamas gives a response, an Israeli official with knowledge of the negotiations told The Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive talks.
Last week, at least 118 people were killed and 760 injured, the Gaza Health Ministry said, when a crowd converged on an aid convoy. Palestinian officials, eyewitnesses and doctors said Israeli troops fired on the crowd, leading to the carnage.
The Israel Defense Forces said its troops fired only warning shots that were not directed at the convoy. On Saturday, Hagari said an initial review found that “no strike was carried out by the IDF towards the aid convoy” and that most of the Palestinian casualties were the result of a stampede. The Post could not independently verify the IDF’s findings.
The operation marked an expansion of the United States’ direct role in addressing a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza — where a lack of food and acute hunger have forced some people to eat weeds and animal feed — though aid groups have warned that the airdrops are insufficient for the enormous need.