United States to Begin Airdrops of Humanitarian Aid Into Gaza Strip
Joining Jordanian Air Force's existing mission
By Denise Rivette
Today in the Oval Office, President Joe Biden announced, as he sat next to Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, that the United States will soon begin airdropping humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. This comes just a day after more than 100 Palestinians were killed trying to access an aid convoy in northern Gaza. Israeli officials admitted troops fired towards some in the crowd they believed posed a threat.
Biden stated that American forces will be joining the Jordanian Air Force’s existing mission that recently began conducting airdrops over Gaza of food, medicine and other supplies.
“Innocent people got caught in a terrible war unable to feed their families and you saw the response when they tried to get aid,” he said. “We need to do more, and the United States will do more. In the coming days, we are going to join with our friends from Jordan and others to provide airdrops of supplies,” he said. The president mispoke and said the airdrops would go into Ukraine before correcting himself.
He also said the United States is working to “open up other avenues” for aid, “including the possibility of a marine corridor delivering large amounts of humanitarian assistance” and well as pushing for “more trucks and more routes” into Gaza.
In spite of U.S. efforts to convince Israel to allow humanitarian supplies on the ground, the United Nation estimates that in January, 80 percent of aid deliveries sent to northern Gaza were blocked by Israeli troops. Further, the United Nations warned earlier this week that approximately 576,000 people (a quarter of Gaza’s population) are “one step away from famine.”
Biden further stated that efforts are still ongoing to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas which would include the return of hostages and a six-week pause in fighting to allow a “surge of aid” to the entire territory.
Montana Independent News relied on the investigative and analytical reporting of the Independent, The Economist and Axios and the video on C-SPAN for this article.