US military begins delivering food aid to Gaza by air
On Saturday, the US military delivered its first food aid to Gaza in pallets by C-130 cargo planes. According to two US officials speaking to the AP, three aircraft belonging to the Central Air Force dropped 66 packages containing approximately 38,000 meals to Gaza at 08:30 local time.
The air deliveries are the first part of the aid announced by US President Joe Biden on Friday. The aid operation is being coordinated with Jordan, which has been conducting air drops to deliver food to Gaza.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said that the air drop operations were planned to safely deliver urgent humanitarian aid to people on the ground.The C-130 cargo aircraft is widely used by the US military to deliver aid to remote areas due to its ability to land in challenging environments and its cargo capacity.
The Gaza Health Ministry reported that at least 115 Palestinians had bee killed and hundreds were injured in the attack on Thursday. Israel claims that most of the casualties were crushed in the chaotic stampede for food aid and that its soldiers opened warning fire as the crowd advanced toward them.
PACKAGES ARE DROPPED WITH PARACHUTES
Loading specialists from the Air Force secure the packages onto pallets before they are released into nets attached to the back of the C-130 for delivery to the target drop zone. Once the plane reaches the designated delivery area, the packages are released with parachutes.
Since the start of the conflict on October 7th, Israel has prohibited the entry of food, water, medicine, and other supplies into Gaza, except for a limited amount of aid entering through the Rafah border crossing and the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
2.3 MILLION PEOPLE ARE FACING HUNGER
The United Nations says that one-fourth of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are facing hunger. Aid officials note that air deliveries are not an efficient means of distribution and are considered a last resort.
