A humanitarian airdrop turned into a tragedy when five civilians, including two boys, were killed in the Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza on Friday. Reports indicate that a malfunction in the parachute system of one of the packages led to the fatal accident.
The fatal incident was confirmed by various sources, including unnamed officials from the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza, who were quoted by CBS. Muhammad Al-Sheikh, head of the emergency department at Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, confirmed the death toll, indicating the seriousness of the incident.
CNN reported that in addition to the tragic loss of life, ten other people, between the ages of 30 and 50, were injured in the accident; Some of them are in serious condition.
The Gaza government criticized the “useless” humanitarian efforts, describing them as “flashy propaganda and not a humanitarian service,” according to Al Jazeera.
She said in a statement: “We previously warned that it poses a threat to the lives of citizens in the Gaza Strip, and this is what happened today when packages fell on the heads of citizens.”
The US State Department clarified, in a statement to DailyMail.com, that the delivery of aid in question did not come from the United States. The United States is known to have been part of a coalition of six countries, including Jordan, Egypt, France, the Netherlands and Belgium, which began sending humanitarian packages to the conflict-torn Gaza Strip starting last week.
The collective effort began last Friday, with the United States also participating by sending the first airdrop of humanitarian aid to the region, NBC News reported.
The American Command Center wrote:
U.S. Central Command and the Royal Jordanian Air Force conducted a joint humanitarian airdrop into northern Gaza on March 7, 2024, at 3:20 p.m. (Gaza time) to provide essential relief to civilians in Gaza affected by the ongoing conflict.
The joint joint operation included US Air Force aircraft, Jordanian C-130 aircraft, and US Army soldiers who specialize in the air delivery of US humanitarian aid supplies.
U.S. C-130 aircraft dropped more than 38,000 meals, providing life-saving humanitarian assistance in northern Gaza and enabling civilians to access vital aid.
The Department of Defense's humanitarian airdrops contribute to ongoing efforts by the United States and partner nation governments to alleviate human suffering. These airdrops are part of an ongoing effort and we continue to plan follow-up airdrops.
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JUST IN: The US has dropped its first airdrop of humanitarian aid into Gaza as millions face starvation.
According to NBC News, three C-130 military aircraft dropped a total of 66 pallets containing 38,000 meals.
But relief organizations say that the airdrop… pic.twitter.com/4YZ9i5KhbT
– Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 3, 2024
The Daily Mail reported:
Three Central Air Force planes dropped 66 packages containing about 38,000 meals on Gaza. The packages were dropped in southwest Gaza, on the beach along the Strip's Mediterranean coast.
The airdrop was coordinated with the Royal Jordanian Air Force, which said it dropped food aid twice on Saturday in northern Gaza and made several tours in recent months.
One witness told AFP that they followed one of the parachute packages in the hope of getting a bag of flour, but the chute did not open and “it fell like a missile onto the roof of a house.”
The fifty-year-old man told AFP, “After ten minutes, I saw people transporting three martyrs and other wounded people who were staying on the roof of the house on which aid packages fell.”
Three Biden administration officials said the planes dropped military ready-to-eat meals — shelf-stable meals that contain a day's worth of calories in each sealed package — at locations that were believed to provide civilians with the greatest level of security to access aid.
