Biden says U.S. military to airdrop food, supplies into Gaza

The United States President Joe Biden on Friday announced plans to carry out Pentagon’s first military airdrop of food and supplies into Gaza in the coming days. The statement came one day after the deadly aid line incident in Gaza threw a spotlight on an unfolding humanitarian crisis in the Strip.

“We need to do more and the United States will do more. Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough,” said the U.S. President.

Biden also told reporters that the U.S. was also looking into the possibility of opening a maritime corridor to deliver large amounts of humanitarian supplies into Gaza.

The White House spokesperson John Kirby stressed that airdrops would become “a sustained effort.” He stated that the first airdrop would likely include “meals ready-to-eat.”

Other reports suggest that the U.S. is not intending to decrease its aid to Israel following the incident.

During the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, other countries – Jordan and France – have previously airdropped aid into Gaza.

The aid line incident is said to have killed at least dozens of people. Hamas accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of attacking the crowd while the IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the situation was a “tragic” stampede.

Biden also told reporters that the U.S. was also looking into the possibility of opening a maritime corridor to deliver large amounts of humanitarian supplies into Gaza.