US carries out first airdrop of aid to Gaza, UN says many people trying to reach relief convoy injured by bullets
- Local authorities say over 100 people were killed and hundreds injured while queuing for supplies; Israel says the victims were trampled or run over by aid trucks
- While the UN says its staff saw people in hospital being treated for gunshot wounds
The US military on Saturday carried out its first airdrop of aid into Gaza, three US officials said, after the deaths of Palestinians queuing for food underlined the growing humanitarian catastrophe in the crowded coastal enclave after months of Israeli military operations.
Other countries including Jordan and France have already conducted airdrops of aid into Gaza, where the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says a quarter of the population - 576,000 people - are one step from famine.
The US airdrop used three C-130 transport planes, said two of the US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. It was not immediately clear where the aid was dropped. One of the officials said it included more than 38,000 meals on 66 pallets.
US President Joe Biden on Friday announced plans for a military airdrop of food and supplies, a day after the deaths of dozens of Palestinians.
“We need to do more and the United States will do more,” Biden told reporters, adding that “aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough”.
At the White House, spokesperson John Kirby stressed that airdrops would become “a sustained effort.” He added that the first airdrop would be likely be military MREs, or “meals ready-to-eat.”