Gaza hospital medic says aid airdrop kills five

The parachute didn't open and fell like a rocket on the roof of one of the houses, a witness said

March 08, 2024 10:45 pm | Updated 10:45 pm IST - Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories

US and its allies air drop humanitarian aid in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. File

US and its allies air drop humanitarian aid in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. File | Photo Credit: Reuters

A medic at Gaza's largest hospital said on March 8 a humanitarian airdrop in Palestine killed five people and wounded 10.

The casualties were taken to Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital, the emergency room's head nurse, Mohammed al-Sheikh, told AFP.

Mr. Sheikh said the deadly airdrop occurred north of the coastal Al-Shati refugee camp.

A witness from the camp told AFP he and his brother followed the parachuted aid in the hope of getting "a bag of flour". "Then, all of a sudden, the parachute didn't open and fell like a rocket on the roof of one of the houses," said Mohammed al-Ghoul.

"Ten minutes later I saw people transferring three martyrs and others injured, who were staying on the roof of the house where the aid packages fell," the 50-year-old told AFP.

The United States and Jordan are among the countries to have carried out airdrops in northern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people are facing dire conditions after more than five months of war.

Also read: Biden approves military air drops of aid into Gaza after Israeli firing left more than 100 dead

Referring to the five killed on Friday, the government media office in Hamas-run Gaza said airdrops were "futile" and "not the best way for aid to enter."

The United Nations has said airdrops or a proposed maritime aid corridor cannot be a substitute for land deliveries, urging more trucks to be permitted to reach Gaza through more border crossings.t

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.