- 60 bundles of food fell into the sea during a joint US-Jordan humanitarian aid drop in Gaza yesterday.
- The US said it dropped 25,344 meal equivalents, including rice, milk, and canned food.
- Previous reporting has said that Palestinians have drowned attempting to reach bundles of aid that fell in the ocean.
During the latest US military humanitarian aid drop into Gaza amid a retaliatory Israeli offensive, dozens of bundles of food fell into the sea.
It’s the latest incident in which essential relief for Palestinians has landed in the nearby Mediterranean. In previous drops, some Palestinians have drowned attempting to reach these aid packages.
On Monday, USCENTCOM reported a joint US-Jordanian humanitarian airdrop in northern Gaza “to provide essential relief to civilians in Gaza affected by the ongoing conflict.”
The aid bundles included Jordanian-provided food and was delivered from three US Air Force C-130 aircraft.
“The US C-130 aircraft dropped 25,344 meal equivalents, including rice, flour, milk, pasta, and canned food, providing life-saving humanitarian assistance,” CENTCOM said.
But during the aid drop, approximately 60 bundles of food landed in the sea. CENTCOM said that it did not “assess civilian harm or damage to infrastructure at this time but continues to monitor the situation.” Some past reports from Gaza have said that the aid drops have injured and even killed people people or led them to put themselves in risky positions to retrieve them.
During the aid drop carried out on March 29, CENTCOM said approximately 26 bundles had landed in the sea; and on March 21, the parachutes of five bundles out of a total of 80 didn’t deploy, with the aid packages landing in non-populated areas and causing no damage, CENTCOM said.
The latest news of drops landing outside the target area comes along with recent reports of Palestinians drowning while attempting to swim out to aid packages in the ocean. At least 12 Palestinians drowned as of March 27, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run government. Another six others died in a “stampede” for humanitarian aid.
Earlier this month, Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health said five children were killed and other injured by aid drops with failed parachutes. Business Insider was unable to independently verify these claims.
Video footage and photos, however, have shown Palestinians rushing to reach aid in northern Gaza, with some fighting for aid and swimming out to retrieve packages in the water.
On Monday, CENTOM reiterated that “the humanitarian airdrops contribute to ongoing U.S. and partner-nation government efforts to alleviate human suffering. These airdrops are part of a sustained effort, and we continue to plan follow-on aerial deliveries.”
While the US and other countries have taken to airdropping aid into Gaza amid Israel’s war against Hamas, some officials have pressed Israel to prioritize getting more humanitarian assistance to starving civilians.
“We’re going to insist that Israel facilitate more trucks and more routes to get more and more people the help they need,” President Joe Biden said when announcing the US’ aid drops in March. “No excuses because the truth is, aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough.”
