- President Biden’s announcement comes one day after Palestinians scrambling for aid were killed in an alleged shooting by Israeli forces.
- The White House, State Department and Pentagon claims it had been weighing the merits of U.S. military airdrops of assistance for several months.
U.S. President Joe Biden has announced that the U.S. will start airdropping aid into Gaza in the “coming days.”
The U.S. is also working on a possible “maritime corridor,” his administration said.
Speaking during an Oval Office meeting with the Prime Minister of Italy, Biden said the humanitarian aid would be dropped in the coming days, saying the U.S. and others must do more to help Palestinians.
“Innocent people got caught in a terrible war, unable to feed their families, and you saw the response when they tried to get aid,” Biden said, referencing the alleged shooting on Thursday.
The death toll of aid-seekers who were fired on by Israeli forces in Gaza City while rushing to access humanitarian aid on Thursday has reached 115, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Gaza officials and Palestinians accused Israel of opening fire on civilians, while Israeli officials said dozens were killed in the rampage and that forces only shot at those who were a threat.
In the U.S., the tragic incident highlighted the need to get more aid into the Gaza Strip, where Palestinians are struggling to access basic necessities and as humanitarian groups warn of famine.
“This event underscores the importance, we believe, of expanding and sustaining the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza,” White House spokesperson John Kirby said.
Kirby added that the U.S. has asked Israel to investigate Thursday’s incident in a serious manner. He also said the Pentagon was drafting a plan for the aid drops, acknowledging it was hard to drop aid into crowded areas.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said the airdrops will not be enough, calling for sustained ground deliveries and the opening of borders for United Nations aid trucks.
“The United States, which has helped fund the Israeli military for years, cannot sit back and allow hundreds of thousands of innocent children in Gaza to starve to death,” Sanders said in a statement.
Biden has acknowledged the alleged shooting will complicate ongoing negotiations to secure another ceasefire and hostages release deal.
Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas still appear far apart on a new deal as they battle each other across Gaza, where more than 30,000 Palestinians have died.
