President Biden said on Friday that the United States would begin airdropping humanitarian aid supplies into Gaza, a decision prompted by the dozens of Palestinians who died when Israeli forces opened fire near an aid convoy in Gaza City a day before.
“Innocent people were trapped in a terrible war by not being able to feed their families, and you saw the response when they tried to get help,” Biden said before meeting with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy. “And we need to do more, and the United States will do more.”
Biden said the United States would work with Jordan, which has been at the forefront of airdrop efforts to Gaza, as well as other allies to deliver aid by air and that supplies could eventually also be delivered by sea.
“The aid flowing to Gaza is no longer enough,” Biden said. “Innocent lives are at stake and children’s lives are at stake.”
Biden and Meloni discussed efforts to prevent the war in Gaza from escalating into a larger conflict, as well as support for Ukraine and measures to address human trafficking and global migration.
John F. Kirby, a senior National Security Council official, said the first airdrops would focus on food, followed by water and medicine. A US military official said the Air Force plans to eliminate 50,000 food rations.
The Biden administration has been considering airdrops for some time but has so far opted against it, in part because of the logistical challenges of sending aid to a dense war zone. But Kirby said Thursday’s chaos had highlighted the need to “find more creative ways to get assistance more quickly and on a larger scale.”
The deaths around the convoy have put the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in the spotlight of administration officials, they say. Officials have said they do not know what exactly happened in the convoy, but they believe Thursday’s disastrous events show the lack of security in Gaza, highlighting the failure of Israel’s war and the increasingly desperate situation of the Palestinians there.
The deaths may prove to be something of a tipping point, prompting the White House to put more pressure on Israel to allow in more humanitarian aid.
Kirby said the deaths show the need for Hamas and Israel to agree to a ceasefire and release hostages held in Gaza. A pause in Israel’s military operations would allow more humanitarian aid to reach the territory more quickly, he said.
Many questions remain unanswered about the killings around the aid convoy on Thursday, about which the Israeli military and Gaza officials offered divergent accounts.
Gaza health officials say more than 100 Palestinians were killed and more than 700 wounded Thursday when Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd gathered near an aid convoy in Gaza City. Witnesses said they saw people shot as they ran toward aid trucks.
The Israeli military said a large crowd swarmed the convoy and Israeli forces fired on a mob that “moved in a way that endangered them.” The Israeli military said most of the deaths had been caused by trampling and that aid trucks had also run over people.
Kirby said the Biden administration believed Israel was conducting a fair investigation into the violence.
“There are signs that they are taking this seriously,” Kirby said, adding that the United States wants answers as soon as possible. “Let’s see what they come up with and what they learn.”