Aid drop kills five in Gaza — RT World News
The waiting Palestinians were crushed by a food parcel after its umbrella malfunctioned
Five people, including two children, were killed in an errant airstrike in Gaza on Friday, the local health ministry said. They were reportedly crushed by a platform of food supplies when the parachute failed to deploy properly.
US, French, Dutch, Belgian, Jordanian and Egyptian transport planes dropped pallets of military rations on Gaza during the day, in an attempt to ease conditions that the United Nations described as imminent famine. Israel has not allowed trucks carrying food and fuel to enter the Palestinian Strip for months.
CBS News and Al Jazeera reported, citing local officials and eyewitnesses, that the incident occurred at around 11:30 a.m. local time in the Beach refugee camp in northern Gaza. Eleven other people were injured.
An anonymous US official told CBS “Initial review” He pointed out that the platform that caused the death was not shot down by an American plane, but he said that further investigation was needed.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet commented on the death report, which has not been verified by the United Nations.
Videos circulating on social media showed one of the aid packages falling much faster than others, with its parachute tangled and not fully opened.
Friday's drop was the second this week, consisting mainly of ready-to-eat dried meal rations intended for battlefield or disaster areas. The United Nations warned that airdrops amount to less than 40,000 meals per day, which is completely insufficient for more than two million people living in Gaza.
“Droping aid in this way is flamboyant propaganda, not a humanitarian service.” The media office of the local government in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, said. He added: “We previously warned that it poses a threat to the lives of citizens in the Gaza Strip, and this is what happened today when packages fell on the heads of citizens.”
Hamas called for the reopening of the land crossings, and condemned the airdrops “Useless and not the best way to bring aid.”
According to the group, there are more than 700,000 Palestinians in the Strip “extreme hunger” At least 20 people starved to death.
Nearly 90% of Gaza's pre-war population have become refugees, with UN Humanitarian Coordinator Martin Griffiths warning last week that life has become difficult. “Attrition from Gaza at a terrifying speed”
Israel declared war on Hamas after the Gaza-based militants unexpectedly attacked nearby settlements on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostage. Dozens of prisoners were subsequently released during a week-long ceasefire in November.
Since then, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed and 70,000 injured, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. Israel rejected the calls for a ceasefire, and fully insisted on its goal “exclude” Hamas in Gaza. The Israeli army and government rejected these accusations “Genocide” They argue that Hamas is using Palestinian civilians as human shields.
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