US, Jordan conduct joint aid airdrop to Gaza

Members of the US Air Force 26th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron load an HC-130J aircraft at an airbase in Jordan, before flying toward the Gaza Strip on a mission to airdrop humanitarian aid supplied by Jordan on Mar. 14, 2024. (AFP)

• US Central Command called the airdrops “part of a sustained effort and we continue to plan follow-on aerial deliveries”
• Much of Gaza lies in ruins and its 2.3 million Palestinian residents face serious food shortages

WASHINGTON: US and Jordanian aircraft on Saturday dropped food supplies to Palestinian civilians trapped in the Gaza Strip in a joint humanitarian aid operation, US Central Command said in a statement.
The airdrops by a US Air Force C-130 aircraft and a Royal Jordanian Air Force C-130 aircraft came as the main UN agency working in the enclave said that one in three children under age two is acutely malnourished. It warned of looming famine.
US Central Command called the airdrops “part of a sustained effort and we continue to plan follow-on aerial deliveries.”
Much of Gaza lies in ruins and its 2.3 million Palestinian residents face serious food shortages more than five months after Israel launched an air and ground offensive following the Oct. 7 rampage into Israel by the enclave’s ruling Hamas militants.
The United States, Israel’s main ally, and other countries have called on Israel to allow in more humanitarian aid. Israel blames UN agencies for slow deliveries, saying it puts no limits on assistance.
The United States began aid airdrops on March 2 and is planning to begin a sealift from the island of Cyprus.