US and Jordanian troops airlift aid to Gaza

CNN
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The United States and Jordan have airlifted humanitarian supplies to Gaza, U.S. Central Command said Saturday, a day after President Joe Biden insisted the U.S. would “do whatever it takes” to get more aid to the besieged coastal enclave. Announced.

In a joint operation between the U.S. Air Force and the Jordanian Air Force, U.S. military C-130 aircraft dropped 38,000 meals along the Gaza coastline, Centcom said in a statement.

U.S. officials said three aircraft dropped a total of 66 bundles, 22 each. There was no water or medicine in the bundle.

“These airdrops are part of continued efforts to obtain more aid to Gaza, including expanding aid flows through land and routes,” Centcom said.

White House officials called Saturday’s operation “successful.”

“The fact that today’s airdrop was successful is an important test case to show that we can do this again successfully in the coming days and weeks,” a senior administration official said on a call with reporters Saturday. Ta.

The official added that the Pentagon is planning additional airdrops to Gaza in the coming days, but did not provide further details.

Following Saturday’s airdrop, Biden said on social media He said the amount of aid flowing into Gaza was “not nearly enough” and that the United States “continues to do everything we can to obtain further aid.”

The comments echoed remarks made a day earlier by Biden, who lamented the slow pace of aid to Gaza. Speaking in the Oval Office alongside Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Biden also said the United States was working to broker a ceasefire that would allow for additional aid.

Biden said Friday he would “insist” on allowing Israel to expand trucks and routes for aid to Gaza.

“We will advocate for Israel to facilitate more trucks and more routes to bring needed aid to more people. There will be no excuses,” the president said. “Innocent lives are at stake, and the lives of children are at stake.”

Other countries, including the United Arab Emirates and France, are also dropping aid into Gaza by air. But Saturday’s operation was a first for the United States.

Ahead of Saturday’s announcement of the operation, aid agencies criticized US plans to cut food aid as ineffective as the United Nations warns that hundreds of thousands of Gazans are at risk of starvation. did.

Richard Gowan, Executive Director of the International Crisis Group, said: said on social media: “Humanitarian workers always complain that airdrops are a good photo opportunity, but a terrible way to deliver aid.”

This article and heading have been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Camila DeChalus and Sophie Tanno contributed to this report.