US Denies Responsibility for Gaza Airdrop That Killed Five
Five people were killed and 10 more injured Friday when an airdrop in Gaza went wrong. Some reports blamed the United States, but at least five other countries were making airdrops and military officials said the U.S. was not responsible.
The incident took place at the Al Shati camp west of Gaza City, according to CNN.
Video of the incident posted to social media showed most of the parachutes with their pallets of food drifting to the ground, while at least one parachute appeared to malfunction.
CNN reported that as the pallet was descending, bags were tumbling down even before it landed.
هذا ما خلفه الإسقاط الجوي على مدينة غزة ، ش&يد وعدد من الإصابات نتيجة إسقاط فاشل على منازل المواطنين شمال مخيم الشاطئ.. pic.twitter.com/NUbkv05mtx
— إسماعيل الغول – Ismail Alghoul (@ismail_gh2) March 8, 2024
דיווחים בעזה: 5 אנשים נהרגו כאשר נפגעו מחבילות הסיוע שהוצנחו ע”י ארה”ב pic.twitter.com/vBBaUcd435
— ישראל היום (@IsraelHayomHeb) March 8, 2024
Gaza authorities said the pallet and its contents fell “on the heads” of some people “as a result of landing incorrectly,” according to The New York Times.
A government statement said that airdrops “pose a death threat to the lives” of Gaza’s civilians.
Saleh Eid, 60, told the Times in a telephone interview that airdrops often land in the sea and that he had seen other aid pallets falling “very fast.”
He also noted that much of what is airdropped is sold on the black market.
Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the United States conducted an airdrop in northern Gaza, but was not involved in the accident, according to ABC.
“Press reports that U.S. air drops resulted in civilian casualties on the ground are false, as we’ve confirmed that all of our aid bundles landed safely on the ground,” Ryder said.
Adam Bouloukos, a senior official at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees-West Bank, said airdrops are “dangerous.”
“You see the airdrops which look very dramatic, like, oh, this is a solution,” he said. “[They are] immensely expensive, completely inefficient [and] dangerous. You’re dropping these huge sacks of whatever it is on the beach with people running toward them.”
CBS reported that two boys were among the five people killed.
The U.S., Jordan, Egypt, France, the Netherlands and Belgium were all conducting airdrops Friday.
The incident came a day after President Joe Biden said the U.S. would build a pier on the Gaza coast for aid deliveries.
Can’t believe @JoeBiden is going to use our taxpayer money to have the US Military build a port next to GAZA for the sake of delivering US aid to jihadists.
I don’t care about GAZA. And I never will.
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) March 8, 2024
The Army’s 7th Transportation Brigade, which is based at Ft. Story, Virginia, will be doing the work, CNN reported.
Ryder said the project could take up to 1,000 U.S. troops and take several weeks.
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