- Hamas claims five civilians were crushed by the multi-nation airstrike on Gaza
- The US was among six countries to send aid packages to the war-torn region
Hamas claims five civilians were crushed by yesterday’s multi-nation airstrike in Gaza after a parachute containing one of the packages failed to deploy.
CBS quotes unnamed officials from the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza as saying two of the fatalities were young boys. The civilians killed were reportedly killed when at least one parachute failed to deploy properly and a package fell on them.
There were also 11 others injured, aged between 30 and 50.
The US was among six countries that sent aid packages to the war-torn region last Friday; Jordan, Egypt, France, the Netherlands and Belgium also sent packages.
The State Department has yet to comment on the claims and the UN has not yet verified the report.
Parachutes drop supplies in the northern Gaza Strip, seen from southern Israel, Friday, March 8, 2024
Three Air Forces Central planes dropped 66 bundles containing approximately 38,000 meals in Gaza
US C-130s dropped more than 38,000 meals along the Gaza coastline, giving civilians access to crucial aid
Three Air Forces Central planes dropped 66 bundles containing approximately 38,000 meals in Gaza. The bundles were dropped in southwestern Gaza, on beaches along the Mediterranean coast.
The airdrop was coordinated with the Royal Jordanian Air Force, which said it carried out two food drops in northern Gaza on Saturday and has carried out several rounds in recent months.
Three Biden administration officials said the planes dropped the military’s Meals Ready to Eat — shelf-stable meals that contain a day’s worth of calories in each sealed package — at locations believed to provide the greatest security for civilians to access get help.
Afterwards, the U.S. monitored the sites and could see civilians approaching and distributing food among themselves, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide additional details that had not been made public.
The US airdrop is expected to be the first of many.
The airborne landings took place after Biden said the US military would build a temporary pier on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to receive shipments of humanitarian aid.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Friday that the airdrops were planned to safely deliver emergency humanitarian assistance to people on the ground.
Palestinians queue for hours to receive food distributed by charity organizations, in Deir Balah, Gaza on March 1, 2024
Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes in the northern Gaza Strip, March 1, 2024. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), more than 30,200 Palestinians and more than 1,300 Israelis have been killed.
The United States believes the air drops will help address the dire situation in Gaza, but they are not a substitute for trucks, which can carry much more aid more effectively, although Thursday’s events also highlighted the risks of ground transport.
The United Nations has warned of famine among Gaza’s 2.3 million residents as the war with Israel continues.
Since the start of the war on October 7, Israel has banned access to food, water, medicine and other supplies, except for a trickle of aid entering the south from Egypt through the Rafah crossing and the Kerem Shalom crossing into Israel.