US makes first aid drop in Gaza as President Biden confirms ‘sustained effort’

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The U.S. delivered its first air drop of aid supplies to Gaza on Saturday, with President Biden’s administration saying it would be a “sustained effort” to bring more food and other aid.
The first of the airdrops landed in Gaza on Saturday, delivering some 38,000 MREs, or meals ready-to-eat. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says drops will continue throughout the coming weeks in partnership with Jordan and other allies.
“We need to do more and the United States will do more,” Biden told reporters on Friday. “Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough.”
The U.S. is also considering the delivery of aid by U.S. navy vessels in the Mediterranean Sea along the coast of Gaza.
PALESTINIAN HUNGER CRISIS CONTINUES AS DESTROYED BAKERIES STRUGGLE TO REOPEN
President Biden confirmed plans on Friday to airdrop aid supplies into Gaza in the coming days after a stampede toward aid trucks killed over 100 Palestinians this week. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
The U.S. delivered the aid in a joint operation with the Royal Jordanian Air Force, according to a statement from CENTCOM.
Saturday’s drop comes after more than 100 people were reported dead and hundreds more wounded when Palestinians rushing toward trucks loaded with humanitarian aid encountered fire in Gaza City early Thursday, according to local media reports.
The exact circumstances surrounding the deaths remain unclear; while several reports suggested Israeli troops fired on the crowd as they descended upon the trucks, the Israeli military suggested that most who died were trampled.
Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesman for the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, said at least 104 people were killed and around 760 were wounded, describing the incident as a “massacre.”
ISRAEL REJECTS UN, AID AGENCIES CRITICISM THAT GAZA IS ON BRINK OF STARVATION: ‘NO SHORTAGE OF FOOD’
The U.S. delivered 38,000 meals to Gazan civilians along the Mediterranean coastline, CENTCOM announced Saturday. (CENTCOM)
The U.S. delivered 38,000 meals to Gazan civilians along the Mediterranean coastline, CENTCOM announced Saturday. (CENTCOM)
The U.S. delivered 38,000 meals to Gazan civilians along the Mediterranean coastline, CENTCOM announced Saturday. (CENTCOM)
Israel has contested that description, however, saying the vast majority of those killed in the incident were trampled in the rush toward aid.
“Early this morning, during the entry of humanitarian aid trucks into the northern Gaza Strip, Gazan residents surrounded the trucks, and looted the supplies being delivered,” Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement. “During the incident, dozens of Gazans were injured as a result of pushing and trampling. The incident is under review.”
The IDF suggested that fewer than 10 civilians were injured by Israeli forces opening fire during the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Dozens of Palestinians were killed and at least 280 were wounded when they were fired upon during a humanitarian aid delivery in Gaza City early Thursday. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Essa, File)
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Hamas says it holds Israel and Biden’s administration “fully responsible” for the incident and for the “ethnic cleansing” of its people. The group called for worldwide demonstrations against Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. 
“We have mercy on the souls of our people’s martyrs, and we affirm that their sacrifices and blood will not be in vain and that we will remain loyal to our cause, our land, and our sanctities,” the group posted to Telegram.
Fox News’ Michael Dorgan and Reuters contributed to this report.
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to [email protected], or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.