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 @ISIDEWITHNewsGazaMilitarygovernmentIsraeli Palestinian ConflictworldSecurityUnited Nations•••1yr ago

Aid Airdrop Kills 5 People in Gaza After Parachute Fails

Five people were killed and several injured after a parachute landing a humanitarian airdrop failed to open, bringing a pallet crashing down into a crowd of people waiting for food north of Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp.

The government media office in Gaza confirmed the casualties after the incident occurred on Friday, lambasting the “useless” airdrops as “flashy propaganda rather than a humanitarian service” and calling for food to be allowed through land crossing.

“We previously warned it poses a threat to the lives of citizens in the Gaza Strip and this is what happened today when the parcels fell on the citizens’ heads,” it said in a statement.

Reporting from Rafah, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said that people are experiencing “a tragedy” in the north of Gaza.

“Not only are they confronted with the lack of food and medical supplies, but as they wait for packages of food, they are either targeted by the Israeli military or killed by a non-functional parachute,” Mahmoud said.

The deaths occurred as famine stalked the enclave, with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reporting last month that at least half a million, or one in four people in Gaza, face famine.

It highlighted the problem of getting desperately needed humanitarian relief into Gaza amid Israeli restrictions.

UNRWA, the largest UN agency in Gaza, says Israeli authorities have not allowed it to deliver supplies to the north of the strip since January 23.

The World Food Programme, which had paused deliveries in Gaza because of security concerns, said the military forced its first convoy to the north in two weeks to turn back on Tuesday.

In response, a number of countries – including the United States, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt – have conducted airdrops, which have been criticised by aid agencies as a costly and ineffective way of delivering food and medical supplies.

15 Replies

 @EuphoricC1vilRightsWorking Familyfrom California  commented…1yr1Y

Thought the Gaza airdrop aid was a ridiculous publicity stunt but I at least assumed they could accomplish it without killing anyone. I was wrong

 @ThrillingBureaucratRepublicanfrom North Carolina  disagreed…1yr1Y

Thought the Gaza airdrop aid was a ridiculous publicity stunt but I at least assumed they could accomplish it without killing anyone. I was wrong

 @WondrousTunaGreen from West Virginia  disagreed…1yr1Y

One would think people wouldn’t be standing under massive crates as they drop from the sky. But it shows just how desperate these people are for this aid.

 @T4riffFredTranshumanistfrom Pennsylvania  commented…1yr1Y

5 killed and 11 injured, I think it's fair to assume 16 people weren't squeezed into the exact spot it landed. It presumably hit the ground and burst, sending splinters and debris flying outward.

This also happened a little before noon, kind of hard to look straight up.

 @EmptyP4ndaDemocrat from Indiana  disagreed…1yr1Y

Imagine being mad about dropping food to starving people

 @WittyInd3p3ndentSocialist from Florida  commented…1yr1Y

No fun in killing people who have no hope. Better to give them a little bit of hope before you kill them.

Thats the American elite + the Israelis for you: The ultimate form of sadism.

 @XfactorCardinalSocialistfrom Arkansas  commented…1yr1Y

Good news guys, I just consulted a map and realized we can get tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza by truck through Israel. Is there some reason we haven't tried that?

 @E1ectionLilyRepublican from Tennessee  disagreed…1yr1Y

Good news guys, I just consulted a map and realized we can get tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza by truck through Egypt. Is there some reason we haven't tried that?

 @XfactorCardinalSocialistfrom Arkansas  disagreed…1yr1Y

Israel also controls the border between Egypt and Gaza...

 @E1ectionLilyRepublican from Tennessee  disagreed…1yr1Y

It is Egyptian land. Egypt could tell Israel to pound sand and open Egypt’s Gaza border. but they won’t, because the el-Sisi administration does not want HAMAS (or Palestinians) crossing into Egypt.

 @PartisanJohnnyGreen from Florida  asked…1yr1Y

Just like mexico can send trucks into the US without US agreement? Gaza is Israel according to international law and Israel also controls the boarder with Egypt.

 @XfactorCardinalSocialistfrom Arkansas  disagreed…1yr1Y

if Egypt told Israel that, Israel would accuse Egypt of sending in weapons to aid Hamas (because why else would they not want Israel to inspect and approve everything crossing the border into Gaza) and then use that as an excuse to invade Egypt.

 @WorldlyLapwingRepublicanfrom Guam  commented…1yr1Y

You can't really blame Israel if the parachute didn't deploy

 @ISIDEWITHasked…1yr1Y

How would you feel if essential aid you rely on could potentially harm you because of delivery methods you have no control over?

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…3mos3MO

Supreme Court Clears The Way For Trump Sentencing

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…5mos5MO

Chaos in Europe: Germany’s Government Collapses As Trump Returns

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…6mos6MO

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