 "Representational Image - AFP")
Jordanian military planes dropped aid into northern Gaza on Tuesday for the first time in five months to address the worsening humanitarian crisis, according to the Jordanian army.
The two C-130 aircraft delivered nearly seven tonnes of food and essential supplies to areas identified by the UN as facing the greatest need. Jordan has been consistently providing humanitarian assistance since the outbreak of the war in October 2023 between Israel and Hamas, conducting approximately 400 aid missions by air and land in collaboration with allied nations.
”The kingdom is maintaining an air and land corridor as part of its efforts to step up aid,” an army source told Reuters
King Abdullah has accused Israel of placing obstacles to deliveries and has called on the international community to put pressure on Israel to allow uninterrupted aid flows.
Washington has prodded Israel to expand the use of a land corridor through Jordan that first began late last year. The World Food Programme (WFP) wants it to be a major conduit for the supply of U.N.-funded food and humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Israeli officials deny accusations they are deliberately using aid as a political weapon and say they have been seeking to alleviate the humanitarian situation since the start of the war.
With inputs from agencies.