Following the Israeli military attack on a crowd of Palestinians gathered near a convoy of aid trucks in Gaza City on Thursday, killing 100 people and injuring at least 700 others, President Joe Biden has announced plans for the first U.S. military airdrop of food and supplies into Gaza, which is set to take place in the coming days.
"We need to do more and the United States will do more," Biden told reporters in a quote obtained from Reuters. "Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough . . . we should be getting hundreds of trucks in, not just several. We’re going to pull out every stop we can.”
Detailing the plan in motion, White House spokesperson John Kirby said that the first airdrop will likely include ready to eat meals (military MREs) and that the drops would become "a sustained effort" as the U.S. continues to push for an immediate cease-fire between Hamas and Israel.
"This isn’t going to be one and done," Kirby stressed.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has been pushing Biden to make this call for awhile now, issued a statement on the planned drop saying, “While an airdrop will buy time and save lives, there is no substitute for sustained ground deliveries of what is needed to sustain life in Gaza. Israel MUST open the borders and allow the United Nations to deliver supplies in sufficient quantities."
