The Royal Army drops aid to the sector in coordination with other countries (Jordanian Armed Forces)
Today, Saturday, the Gaza Strip witnessed the implementation of aid landing operations by a number of countries, including Jordan, the United States of America, Germany and Egypt, amid tragic humanitarian conditions experienced by the population against whom the Israeli occupation is waging a war of weapons and starvation.
The US Central Command said - in a statement - that a Jordanian plane and a Jordanian plane dropped food supplies today for the besieged Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in a joint humanitarian aid operation.
The aid drops were carried out using a C-130 aircraft belonging to the US Air Force and another of the same model belonging to the Royal Jordanian Air Force, at a time when the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said today that one in every 3 children under the age of 24 Shahra is now suffering from severe malnutrition, warning of a looming famine.
US Central Command described the air drops as "part of an ongoing effort, and we continue to plan subsequent air deliveries."
For its part, the Jordanian army said in a statement, "Today, the armed forces carried out 5 airdrops of medical and food aid, with the participation of a number of brotherly and friendly countries."
He added, "Two C-130 aircraft belonging to the Royal Air Force participated in the airdrop operation, which targeted a number of sites in the northern Gaza Strip, one of which carried out an airdrop of urgent medical aid to the Jordanian field hospital."
German aid
In turn, German Chancellor Olaf Schulz urged Israel today to allow humanitarian aid to reach Gaza on a larger scale, before the start of his two-day tour of the Middle East.
Schulz is scheduled to travel to the Jordanian port of Aqaba overlooking the Red Sea today to meet tomorrow with King Abdullah, then he will head to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"It is essential that aid reaches Gaza on a larger scale now. This will be a topic I must speak about," Schulz told reporters before leaving.
He expressed his concern about the planned Israeli attack on the city of Rafah, south of Gaza, where more than half of the Palestinian Strip's 2.3 million people are seeking refuge.
He added, "There is a risk that a comprehensive attack on Rafah will lead to many civilian casualties, which must be strictly prevented."
The German Air Force also reported that it carried out an airdrop on the Palestinian Strip, which included 4 tons of relief materials.
The German Foreign Ministry said on the X platform, “Every parcel is important, but air drops are just a drop in the bucket.”
Aid shipment from Cyprus
On the other hand, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said that a second shipment of food aid is ready to leave and head by sea to Gaza, after the first aid shipment arrived in the Palestinian Strip last night.
About 200 tons of food arrived in the Gaza Strip late yesterday, the first shipment to follow the new route to send aid to the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by the war that has been going on for more than 5 months.
“The first ship has begun its return to Cyprus, and we are ready to send the second ship,” Christodoulides told reporters.
The second ship, carrying 240 tons of aid, is docked in Larnaca port awaiting the sailing signal.
A large part of the Gaza Strip has turned into rubble, as its residents face a serious food shortage, about 6 months after Israel launched an air and ground attack on this besieged strip.
Source: Agencies