Biden says US will begin humanitarian aid airdrops into Gaza

The United States will soon begin airdropping humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip to alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crisis caused by Israel’s war against Hamas.

President Joe Biden confirmed on Friday that US forces would join the Jordanian Air Force’s existing mission that has been conducting airdrops of food, medicine and other supplies in recent days.

Speaking alongside Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni in the Oval Office, Mr Biden referenced the tragic deaths of more than 100 Palestinians who were killed after the Israeli army opened fire at a crowd trying to get food from an aid convoy on Wednesday, calling the loss of life “heartbreaking”.

“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”.

Israeli officials acknowledged troops fired towards some in the crowd they believed posed a threat. The Israeli military said publicly the incident was under review and disputed the account given by the Health Ministry, saying “dozens were killed and injured from pushing, trampling and being run over by the trucks”.

Mr Biden continued: “In the coming days, we are going to join with our friends from Jordan and others to provide airdrops of supplies,” he continued. The president mistakenly said the airdrops would go into Ukraine before correcting himself.

He also said the US is working to “open up other avenues” for aid, “including the possibility of a marine corridor delivering large amounts of humanitarian assistance”.

“Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough now — it’s nowhere nearly enough. Innocent lives are on the line and children’s lives are on the line,” he said.