U.S. President Joe Biden announced plans to carry out a first military airdrop of food and supplies into Gaza, a day after the deaths of Palestinians queuing for aid threw a spotlight on an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in the crowded coastal enclave.

Northwest Washington

The United States has joined Israel in striking nuclear targets in Iran. It follows an escalating broader conflict in the region including the ongoing Gaza war.

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U.S. President Joe Biden has announced plans to initiate a military airdrop of food and supplies into Gaza. This decision comes in response to an escalating humanitarian crisis in the densely populated coastal region. The move to provide aid through airdrops was decided upon following incidents where Palestinians queuing for aid resulted in fatalities, highlighting the dire situation.

By opting for a military airdrop, the United States aims to swiftly address the urgent need for food and supplies in Gaza. This approach underscores the critical conditions faced by residents in the enclave, where traditional means of aid delivery may be insufficient or too slow to meet the growing needs.



U.S. to airdrop aid into Gaza, Biden says

We need to do more, and the United States will do more. U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Friday plans for a military airdrop of humanitarian aid into Gaza, where the United Nations says more than half a million people, one quarter of the population, are one step away from famine. In the coming days, we're going to join with our friends in Jordan and others in providing airdrops of additional food and supplies. Airdrops to supply Palestinians with food and medicine have been interrupted by fighting, looting, and Israeli protesters attempting to block trucks entering from Egypt. And the White House on Friday acknowledged just how hard it would be to effectively deliver aid from the air. There's few military operations that are more complicated than humanitarian assistance airdrops. Here's White House spokesperson John Kirby. It is extremely difficult to do an airdrop in such a crowded environment as is Gaza. Very, very densely populated. A lot of people confined to small spaces. So you want to do it in a way that you can get it as close as you can to the people in need, but not in a way that puts them in any danger. Kirby said Israel is supportive of the U.S. plan to airdrop food and supplies into the Gaza Strip. Israel's military operation in the Palestinian territory in retaliation for a surprise attack on October 7th has sparked a humanitarian crisis in the densely populated Gaza Strip. Other countries, including Jordan and France, have already carried out airdrops of aid into Gaza. Biden's announcement comes a day after Gaza health authorities said Israeli forces opened fire and killed more than 100 people trying to reach a relief convoy near Gaza City. No IDF strike was conducted towards the aid convoy. Israel blamed most of the deaths on crowds that swarmed around aid trucks, saying victims had been trampled or run over. An Israeli official also said troops had, quote, in a limited response, later fired on crowds they felt had posed a threat. The U.N. Palestinian Refugee Agency, UNRWA, said on Friday that during February, an average of nearly 97 trucks were able to enter Gaza each day, compared with about 150 trucks a day in January, adding, quote, the number of trucks entering Gaza remains well below the target of 500 per day.

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