A U.S. Air Force airman stands on the ramp of a C-130J Combat King II after airdropping humanitarian aid destined for Gaza on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Christian Sullivan/U.S. Air Force)
WASHINGTON — American and Jordanian forces on Tuesday conducted a second humanitarian airdrop in northern Gaza as the U.S. considers providing more aid for the Palestinian enclave by sea, defense officials said.
Three U.S. C-130 Hercules cargo planes dropped more than 36,800 meals at about 2:30 p.m. local time, according to U.S. Central Command, which controls U.S. military operations in the Middle East.
“The United States is committed to pulling out every stop to get more aid to those in Gaza who desperately need it,” President Joe Biden said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
This comes after U.S. and Jordanian forces dropped some 38,000 meals in southwest Gaza on Saturday following Biden’s announcement that the U.S. would begin supplying food to starving Gazans after at least 115 Palestinians were killed and hundreds more wounded Thursday during an attack as they scrambled for aid, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which is run by Hamas militants. Palestinian officials claimed Israeli soldiers opened fire on civilians.
Biden said last week that the U.S. was also looking at the possibility of a maritime corridor to deliver large amounts of aid into Gaza, a small swath of land along the Mediterranean Sea that borders Israel and Egypt.
“Our goal is clear, to establish a comprehensive aid strategy that includes air, land and sea routes to maximize the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza and ensure that aid is distributed to everyone in Gaza who needs it,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Monday.
He said the Biden administration was continuing to press Israeli officials to open another border crossing to send aid on the ground for the northern part of Gaza.
A U.S. Air Force Aerial Port Airman aboard a C-130J Super Hercules in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility loads a pallet of food destined for an airdrop over Gaza, Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (U.S. Air Force)
U.S. Air Force loadmasters and aerial porters load a buffer stop assembly onto a C-130J Super Hercules prior to loading pallets of humanitarian aid destined for Gaza at an undisclosed location within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (U.S. Air Force)
Sabrina Singh, the deputy Pentagon press secretary, said Monday that between 30 and 120 trucks carrying aid have been able to enter Gaza daily in the past week, and airdrops served as a supplemental effort to reach Palestinians.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, sent a letter to Biden last week requesting he deploy a hospital ship to Gaza to provide more humanitarian aid. The senators also requested the U.S. work with Israel and Egypt to create maritime logistic routes and allow civilian access to aid.
“We are actively reviewing options for a maritime corridor for humanitarian assistance into Gaza, including potential commercial and contracted options,” Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s top spokesperson, told reporters Tuesday.
Ryder did not have details to provide on the senators’ request.
He also said, at this point, there are no plans to send U.S. forces into Gaza to bolster efforts to distribute aid.
A U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules is loaded with humanitarian aid destined for an airdrop over Gaza at an undisclosed location within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (U.S. Air Force)
U.S. Air Force airmen and U.S. Army soldiers prepare bundles of humanitarian assistance for airdrop aboard a U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules at an undisclosed location within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (U.S. Air Force)
