On video: the US drops humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip/Reuters
Senior American officials told Walla today (Saturday) that the drop of humanitarian aid to Gaza went off safely and without casualties.
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, ordered the airdrop yesterday, after saying that "the aid that has flowed so far is not enough."
This, after yesterday more than a hundred Palestinians were killed and over 700 injured when an aid truck was brought in.
Ten packages of humanitarian aid were dropped today into the Rafah area of the Gaza Strip by planes of the American Air Force.
Senior American officials said that the event was successful and there were no casualties on the ground, but one of the packages fell into the water.
The cargo that was dropped included prepared personal meals of the type used by the United States Army.
It was reported that the meals were "halal", that is, food allowed to be eaten according to Muslim law.
A senior American official added that more drops are expected to take place in the coming days.
Humanitarian aid is parachuted into the Gaza Strip/Reuters
Yesterday, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, announced the new initiative for humanitarian aid to the Strip.
The president expressed himself with unusual severity and said that "we intend to demand from Israel to allow more trucks to enter Gaza and through more crossings. We will not accept excuses. There are children whose lives are at stake. Hundreds of trucks should enter Gaza every day and not just a small number. I will not stand by and I will not I will give up."
Biden said in his speech that the United States is trying to reach an immediate ceasefire agreement to allow the introduction of aid.
He also added that the US is also examining the possibility of opening a sea corridor to Gaza in order to transfer large amounts of aid to the Strip. Senior American officials admit that parachute aid will have a limited effect on the humanitarian crisis in the Strip, because the amount of supplies that a plane can carry is relatively small compared to that of a truck. The senior officials emphasized because the only way to significantly help the population is by land, and therefore they are working to increase access to Gaza in order to bring hundreds of trucks into the Strip every day.
The issue of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza rose to the top of the agenda in the background of the event that took place last Thursday, in which over 100 Palestinians were killed and more than -700 in the riots that developed around the introduction of an aid truck into the Strip. Palestinian gangs tried to take control of a truck and loot it, which caused the driver to panic and drive quickly through the crowd that had gathered there. As a result, people were run over, and the riot spread in the area.
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"Hundreds of trucks have to enter Gaza every day"/Reuters
Yesterday, Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke on the phone with Minister Benny Gantz and protested Gantz's intention to fly next week to meetings with senior officials of the American administration in Washington.
Sources close to Netanyahu said that Gantz flew without the Prime Minister's approval, and contrary to the government regulations, which require every minister to approve his trip in advance with the Prime Minister, including approval of the travel plan.
"The Prime Minister made it clear to Minister Gantz that the State of Israel has only one prime minister," said a source close to Netanyahu.
Earlier that day, Israel made it clear to Egypt and Qatar that it would not hold another round of talks regarding the deal for the release of the abductees, until Hamas presents a list of the abductees who are alive.
Also, Israel demands to know how many Palestinian prisoners the mediating countries offered to release in the deal.
"There is no point in starting another round of talks until we receive the lists of which of the abductees are alive and until Hamas gives its answer regarding the "keys" that define how many prisoners will be released for each abductee," said an Israeli official.
Reprimanded by Netanyahu: "There is only one prime minister."
Gantz/Flash 90, Jonathan Zindel
Senior Israeli officials said that they are waiting to see if the American pressure on the mediators and the personal talks that President Biden held with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar on Thursday will bear fruit over the weekend and make Hamas provide answers.
Earlier this week, on Tuesday, President Biden made another harsh statement towards Israel.
"Sheral previously received support from most of the world's countries, but if she continues with the current behavior with the unusually conservative government they have, with Ben Gabir and others, they will lose support from the world," said the American president in an interview with the NBC network.
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Humanitarian aid
Gaza Strip
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