US to start airdrops to get humanitarian aid into Gaza

WASHINGTON (CN) — The U.S. will airdrop aid into Gaza in an effort to ease its humanitarian crisis amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas.

President Joe Biden announced the airdrops Friday in a few sentences before his meeting with the Italian prime minister. He said the airdrops, in concert with “Jordan and others,” would start “in the coming days.” He also said the U.S. is considering opening access from the sea. 

"Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough now — it's nowhere nearly enough,” he said. “Innocent lives are on the line and children's lives are on the line."

The Gaza Strip, one of the most densely populated areas in the world, is on the verge of famine amid Israel’s offensive into the occupied territory. The problem has been exacerbated by the trickle of humanitarian aid that has entered the strip, largely because of Israel’s objections.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby didn’t have a better timeline for delivery but said “we’re not waiting around” and the Pentagon is finalizing logistics.

Kirby said the first deliveries will be food in the form of MREs, or meal ready-to-eat kits used by the military.

The latest conflict between Israel and the Palestinian territories it occupies ignited on Oct. 7, 2023, when militants from Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, entered Israel. They killed nearly 1,200 people and took at least 240 hostages in that attack.

Since then, Israel has launched a brutal invasion of Gaza, an operation that so far has killed more than 30,000 people. 

Biden has faced mounting protests for his full-throated support of Israel, including an active duty U.S. Air Force member who self-immolated outside the Israeli embassy on Sunday. Privately, Biden has been growing increasingly frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the conduct of the war, but the U.S. president has done little in public to show his displeasure.

The announcement comes a day after dozens of Palestinians were killed while clamoring for humanitarian assistance. At least 107 people reportedly died and more than 700 were wounded, but it’s unclear how many people were killed by Israeli gunfire, in the stampede or by aid trucks fleeing the location.

Biden said the U.S. will “insist” that Israel facilitate more humanitarian trucks entering Gaza.

"We should be getting hundreds of trucks in, not just several,” he said. “And I won't stand by, we won't let up and we're... trying to pull out every stop we can to get more assistance in." 

Kirby said the airdrops would “supplement the delivery on the ground,” not replace it.

“Even though you can pack a lot on a military aircraft you can’t replicate the size and scale and scope of a convoy of 20 or 30 trucks,” he said. “It’s still the best way to get the maximum amount of assistance in over the shortest period of time.”

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