US begins airdropping humanitarian aid into Gaza

According to two US officials cited by CNN, the US has started delivering humanitarian aid into Gaza by airdrop.
US President Joe Biden declared on Friday that humanitarian aid will be airdropped into Gaza and that the airdrops will start “very soon.”
But not before declaring, “Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere near enough.”

According to CNN, a US official stated that three US C-130s dropped aid over Gaza on Saturday.
According to a US official, three US C-130s dropped humanitarian supplies over Gaza on Saturday.
The official stated that 66 bundles in total were dropped, 22 from each aircraft.
CNN reported that although meals were dropped for the Gazans, there was no water or medical supplies included in the bundles.

Following Biden’s pledge to airdrop food aid to the Gaza population, the US has decided to use all of its resources to make sure that more supplies get to the area.
In talks in the Oval Office, Biden offered a conflicting evaluation of the current hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
While expressing optimism that a deal could be reached by Ramadan, he also conceded that it “may not get there,” according to CNN.

In response to questions concerning a possible ceasefire by Monday—a date that Biden had previously proposed—he acknowledged that it appeared doubtful that such a result would be reached at this time.
“It appears that we are still not there yet. Though it’s not there yet, I believe we will arrive. And it might not get there now,” Biden said, providing a sober assessment of the difficulties in mediating a settlement between Israel and Hamas. Still, he was upbeat, saying, “It’s not over until it’s over.”
Biden earlier emphasized the need to increase the number of trucks and routes in order to guarantee the effective delivery of aid to the Gaza population during his meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

“We’re going to insist that Israel facilitate more trucks and more routes to get more and more people the help they need, no excuses,” said Biden.