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The United States will soon begin airdropping humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip to alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crisis brought on by Israel’s war against Hamas.
President Joe Biden on Friday confirmed that US forces would join the Jordanian Air Force, which has been conducting airdrops of food, medicine and other supplies in recent weeks.
Speaking alongside Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni in the Oval Office, Mr Biden referenced the tragic deaths of numerous Palestinians who were gathered near an aid convoy on Thursday, calling the loss of life “heartbreaking”.
“Innocent people got caught in a terrible war unable to feed their families and you saw the response when they tried to get aid,” he said. “We need to do more, and the United States will do more”.
“In the coming days, we are going to join with our friends from Jordan and others to provide airdrops of supplies,” he continued, though the president mistakenly said the airdrops would go into Ukraine before correcting himself.
He also said the US is working to “open up other avenues” for aid, “including the possibility of a marine corridor delivering large amounts of humanitarian assistance”.
“Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough now — it’s nowhere nearly enough. Innocent lives are on the line and children’s lives are on the line,” he said.
The president also said the US will work to push Israeli authorities to allow more aid deliveries by land, including “more trucks and more routes” into Gaza, by “pull[ing out every stop we can to get more assistance”.
He added that efforts are still ongoing to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas which would include the return of hostages and a six-week pause in fighting to allow a “surge of aid” to the entire territory.