US begins first airdrop of humanitarian aid to Gaza

The United States has made its first airdrop of humanitarian aid to Gaza, distributing more than 30,000 meals from three military aircrafts.

US transport aircraft C-130 dropped more than 38,000 meals along the Gaza coastline, US Central Command said in a statement.

“These airdrops are part of a sustained effort to get more aid into Gaza, including by expanding the flow of aid through land corridors and routes,” it added.

This is the first aid to be airdropped into Gaza by the United States. Other countries including the UK, France, Egypt and Jordan have previously led the charge.

The operation, carried out in collaboration with Jordan’s air force, was the first of several aid deliveries announced by President Joe Biden.

He promised to increase help after at least 112 people were murdered by Israeli forces while waiting to receive aid.

The airdrop comes as a top US official announced that the framework for a six-week truce in Gaza has been agreed upon.

On Saturday, a Biden administration official indicated that Israel had “more or less accepted” a new cease-fire agreement.

Mediators are due to meet again in Cairo on Sunday, and Egyptian officials said delegations from both Hamas and Israel were expected to arrive for the negotiations.

Israel launched retaliatory offensives to destroy Hamas after its gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on 7 October and took 253 back to Gaza as hostages.

According to officials in Gaza, more than 30,000 people, including 21,000 children and women, have been killed in the enclave since then with some 7,000 missing and at least 70,450 injured.