International Desk: The United States has provided relief aid to Gaza for the first time. The country has dropped at least 30,000 food packets of relief aid from three military planes. On Saturday (March 2), the British media (BBC) reported the news.
The US Central Command said in a statement that these packets were dropped by parachute with the help of the Jordanian Air Force.
The US used three C-130 transport planes to drop the food packets. However, it is not known exactly where the aid was dumped. At least 38,000 food packets were dumped in 66 large wooden boxes, a US official said on condition of anonymity.
Hundreds of Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces on Thursday when they opened fire on civilians who had gathered to collect aid in Gaza, health authorities in Gaza claimed. Following the incident, US President Joe Biden announced on Friday the airdrop of relief and other supplies to the Gaza Strip. The day after the announcement, the US military dropped food packets.
Several countries, including France and Jordan, have already begun airdropping aid into Gaza, Reuters reported.
In the face of domestic and foreign pressure, US officials are also considering shipping relief aid by sea from Cyprus, 210 nautical miles off Gaza’s Mediterranean coast.
For months, the US has been urging Israel to allow more aid to Gaza. But Israel has stopped the movement of relief trucks through the Rafah crossing.
