Five Dead After Failed Relief Paradrop
Five people were killed after a parachute attached to an aid package failed to deploy in Gaza earlier this week. The deaths came around the same time that the Biden administration announced that the United States would be creating a temporary port in the Palestinian territory to provide humanitarian aid there during the war between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group.
The five people were killed Friday after the package dropped from an airdrop had a faulty parachute. Among the dead were two boys. Alongside the dead, eleven other people were injured.
The incident happened at the Al-Shati refugee camp Friday morning, according to the Gaza Health Ministry run by Hamas. Video captured one of the airdropped packages descending at a rapid rate.
The United States is part of a number of nations from the Middle East and Europe that are airdropping aid to the Palestinian territory.
However, the package was not dropped by the United States. Separately, American planes dropped rations to Gaza.
Despite the effort, on social media, some Palestinians criticized the American food, stating that it was expired and not the correct type of food. In other cases, a United Nations official called the drops a “temporary band-aid.”
The Biden administration announced that the U.S. military would create a temporary port to send more aid to the territory. The port will likely be open in the next several weeks, with approval from the Israeli government.
Following the announcement former Trump administration legal adviser Marc Short said that the president “wants to take our men and woman in uniform to build a port in a terrorist haven but he is not actually willing to build a wall to secure our border.”
.@marctshort blasts Joe Biden's plan to give more aid to Hamas:
"When it comes to Gaza, [Biden] wants to take our men and woman in uniform to build a port in a terrorist haven but he is not actually willing to build a wall to secure our border." pic.twitter.com/d8iD1CISHx
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) March 8, 2024
“Tonight, I’m directing the US military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the coast of Gaza that can receive large shipments carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelter,” Biden said.
“No US boots will be on the ground. The temporary pier will enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day,” the president added.
