Gaza: At least five people were killed, while many others were injured after a humanitarian airdrop parachute failed to open during aid drop in Gaza. The incident occurred in Shati refugee camp of Gaza City. According to reports, the incident happened when the pallet crashed into a group of people who had queued for food.
Following the incident, the Gaza government said, “We previously warned it poses a threat to the lives of citizens in the Gaza Strip and this is what happened today when the parcels fell on the citizens’ heads.”
Earlier, US President Joe Biden will announce in his State of the Union address that the country’s military will build a temporary port in Gaza for the delivery of additional humanitarian aid to civilians, senior officials have said. “Tonight in the speech, the President will announce that he’s directing the US military to lead an emergency mission to establish a port in the Mediterranean, on the Gaza coast, that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine, and temporary shelters,” one of the officials said during a call with reporters on Thursday.
The official added that the project, “the main feature of which is a temporary pier”, is expected to become operational in “a number of weeks”, Xinhua news agency reported. US forces involved in the mission “are either already in the region or will begin to move there soon”, the official said.
