US conducts 5th airdrop to Gaza, delivering over 41,000 meals

The US military airdrops more than 41,000 meals to Gaza, in Washington’s fifth operation this month to deliver urgently needed aid to the coastal territory.

A US military cargo plane “dropped over 41,400 US meal equivalents and 23,000 bottles of water into Northern Gaza, an area of great need, allowing for civilian access to the critical aid,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM) says of the joint operation.

The amount of aid brought into Gaza by truck has plummeted during five months of the war, and Gazans are facing dire shortages of food, water and medicine. Israel says there is no limit to the amount of aid that can enter the Strip and blames shortages on aid agencies’ failure to distribute supplies.

The US launched its first airdrop of food into Gaza on March 2, providing more than 38,000 meals, then dropped more than 36,000 on Tuesday, more than 38,000 on Thursday, and more than 11,500 on Friday.

With the number of people in need of aid in Gaza much greater than could be fed by airdrops alone, US President Joe Biden announced Thursday that the US military will establish a temporary port off Gaza’s coast to bring in more assistance.

March 9 USCENTCOM Conducts Humanitarian Airdrops into Gaza

U.S. Central Command conducted a humanitarian assistance airdrop into Northern Gaza on March 9, 2024, at 2:18 p.m. (Gaza time) to provide essential relief to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict.

The joint… pic.twitter.com/lXwuVlCWMp

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 9, 2024