“Humanitarian aid” dropped by the Americans killed five Palestinians: “Fell like a rocket”

Five Palestinians were killed and 10 injured during a US aid airdrop in Gaza when the parachute failed to open.

The “humanitarian” package “fell like a rocket” onto the roof of a house near the al-Shati refugee camp, where, according to an eyewitness, people were waiting for humanitarian supplies that were delivered by road through checkpoints connecting Gaza with Israel.

Witnesses said the accident occurred Friday morning near a coastal refugee camp known as al-Shati, one of Gaza’s worst-ravaged areas, after a parachute attached to a pallet did not deploy properly and the package fell on a group of men. , teenagers and young children hoping to receive food and other supplies.

Several hundred thousand people face famine in northern Gaza, where they live among the ruins of their homes, without sanitation, electricity or any other basic services.

The injured were taken to Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, said Mohammed al-Sheikh, head nurse at the emergency department.

A witness from the camp said he and his brother followed the parachute rescue in hopes of getting a “sack of flour.”

“Then, suddenly, the parachute did not open and fell like a rocket onto the roof of one of the houses,” Mohammed al-Ghul said. “Ten minutes later, I saw people carrying three martyrs and other wounded people who remained on the roof of the house where the relief packages had fallen.”

The US and Jordan are among the countries that have carried out airborne assaults on northern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people face dire conditions after more than five months of war, The Guardian notes.

A US defense official told AFP that “the US did not cause any deaths during our landings in Gaza”, while a Jordanian military source said none of the kingdom’s four aircraft involved in the operation were involved. loss of life.

“We are aware of reports of civilians killed as a result of humanitarian airborne assaults. We express our condolences to the families of the victims. Contrary to some reports, this was not the result of an airborne landing by US troops,” US Central Command said in a message on X late Friday.

Citing the five people killed on Friday, the government press bureau in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip said the airdrop was “useless” and “not the best way to deliver humanitarian aid.”

Efforts by humanitarian organizations to deliver relief supplies were severely hampered by a combination of logistical obstacles, disruption of public order, and lengthy Israeli-imposed bureaucracy.

Because the only entry points into Gaza allowed by Israel are in the territory’s south, any convoys must travel up to 25 miles (40 km) on rutted, rubble-strewn roads with the constant threat of looting. Many convoys were blocked or detained by Israeli forces.

Last week, more than 100 people were killed when Israeli forces opened fire near an aid convoy in Gaza. The Israeli military said most died in the stampede. Palestinian officials and witnesses deny this.

“Any efforts to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza are very welcome,” said Juliette Thoma, director of communications at the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. “However, there is a much simpler and more effective way to meet people’s desperate needs. This is achieved through more consistent humanitarian deliveries by road through checkpoints connecting Gaza to Israel.”

On Thursday, Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, said those concerned about the situation in Gaza should press the Israeli government to “allow unimpeded humanitarian land access” and not block convoys.

“Other options are not enough: airborne assaults are good but not sufficient, sea corridors are necessary but take time. And time is of the essence,” Borrell said.

The UN also said airborne assaults or a proposed sea corridor for relief efforts could not replace land supplies, The Guardian reported, calling for more trucks to be allowed to reach Gaza through more border crossings.