Parachute Failure Strikes Gaza Aid Airdrop, Killing Five In Al-Shati Refugee Camp

Five people were killed and 10 others were injured in Gaza when a humanitarian airdrop pallet struck people in the Al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza after a parachute failed to deploy properly on Friday morning.

“5 children killed in humanitarian aid airdrop, Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health says It wasn't an airdrop by the U”

ABC News

The Guardian reported the incident happened near al-Shati after the parachute attached to the pallet failed to deploy and the parcel fell on a group of men, teenagers and younger children hoping to obtain food and other supplies.

ABC News

CBS News said officials from Gaza's Hamas-run Ministry of Health and an eyewitness told them five people were killed when at least one parachute failed to properly deploy and a parcel fell on them at around 11:30 a.m. local time (4:30 a.m. Eastern).

CBS News also said there were two boys among the five people killed and that 11 others were injured, with those injured said to be between 30 and 50 years old.

The casualties were taken to Gaza City’s al-Shifa hospital, where the emergency room’s head nurse, Mohammed al-Sheikh, said the deaths occurred, according to The Guardian.

The U.S. and Jordan were among the countries to have carried out airdrops in northern Gaza, but U.S. officials denied responsibility for the fatalities after the incident.

The Guardian quoted a U.S. defense official saying, "the US did not cause the fatalities during our airdrop in Gaza," while the U.S. central command said, "Contrary to some reports, this was not the result of U.S. airdrops."

CBS News

CBS News similarly reported that CENTCOM stated, "Contrary to some reports, this was not the result of U.S. airdrops," after an initial review indicated the U.S. airdrop was not responsible for the fatalities on the ground.

In Gaza, the Government Media Office in Hamas-run Gaza called the airdrop "futile" and "not the best way for aid to enter," according to The Guardian.

CNN reported that Khader Al Zaanoun witnessed the aid packages falling over the Al Shati camp but could not confirm which nation was behind the air drop, while Mohammed Al-Sheikh confirmed five people were killed.

The incident unfolded as The Guardian said several hundred thousand people are facing famine in northern Gaza, where they live among the ruins of their homes without sewage, electricity or any other basic services.

“At least five people were killed and 10 others injured when airdropped aid packages fell on them in the Al Shati camp west of Gaza City, according to a journalist on the scene”

CNN

The Guardian quoted UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees communications director Juliette Touma saying, "there is a much easier and more efficient way to respond to people’s desperate needs," through more consistent humanitarian deliveries via the road through the crossing points that connect Gaza with Israel.

The Guardian also quoted Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, saying those concerned should put pressure on the Israeli government to "grant unimpeded humanitarian land access" and not block convoys, adding that "Other options are not enough: airdrops good but insufficient, sea corridors needed but take time."

ABC News reported that the Government Media Office in Gaza called for the immediate opening of land crossings and said, "Approximately 2,400,000 people in the Gaza Strip suffer greatly from severe shortages of food, water, medicine and shelter, and the famine deepens further as a result of this acute shortage."

ABC News added that the UNRWA coordinator Adam Bouloukos called airdrops "dangerous" and said they are "immensely expensive, completely inefficient [and] dangerous," while also saying a cease-fire is needed so aid can reach areas by road.