Aid airdrop kills five Palestinians in Gaza
Five Palestinians have been killed by aid packages airdropped on the besieged Gaza Strip by the US and its allies with the Gaza authorities slamming the airdrop as a "flashy propaganda" rather than a humanitarian service.
The spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, Mahmoud Basal, said boxes fell on the desperate people who were gathering northwest of Gaza City on Friday to collect the aid “as a result of civilian aircraft incorrectly dropping aid.”
According to the report, the technical failure also left an unspecified number of injured people.
Videos that circulated on social media showed an aircraft dropping aid packages on people in al-Shati Camp in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Locals said some parachutes used to airdrop the aid didn’t open, causing the boxes to fall on the aid-seekers.
According to a medical source in the al-Shifa Medical Complex, some of the injured are in serious condition.
Faulty airdrop of aid in Gaza City resulted in the deaths of at least two people.
— Palestine Highlights (@PalHighlight) March 8, 2024
Video shows over a dozen packages falling rapidly from a plane near the al-Fayrouz Towers area. pic.twitter.com/WX7rB4gzoC
That took place as some countries, including the United States, Jordan, Egypt, and France, have conducted airdrop operations into Gaza, which is under a complete Israeli siege. Critics say airdropping is an unsafe and insufficient means of aid delivery.
Commenting on the deadly airdrop, the government media office in Gaza said such operations were "futile" and "not the best way for aid to enter."
“Dropping aid in this way is flashy propaganda rather than a humanitarian service,” said Gaza’s media office. “We previously warned it poses a threat to the lives of citizens in the Gaza Strip, and this is what happened today when the parcels fell on the citizens’ heads.”
“Before it is too late, bring in aid through land crossings,” it said.
The United Nations has also stressed that airdrops are not a replacement for land deliveries.
Jordan has denied that its aircraft was behind the Friday tragedy. The other countries have yet to comment on the incident.
Israel waged its genocidal war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
The Tel Aviv regime has also imposed a “complete siege” on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.
Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed over 30,000 Palestinians and injured more than 72,000 others.
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