A humanitarian aid parachute that failed to open led to the death of five people in Gaza on Friday. Humanitarian aid was being airdropped and the failure of some to open up caused the catastrophe. The aid dropped onto starving crowds causing five deaths and injuring several.
The unfortunate incident took place in the north of Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp.
A video that was shared on social media depicted a considerable group of aid packages, which were hung from parachutes and floating through the sky. However, the packages seemed to be getting tangled up, causing one of them to drop much faster than the others, even though its chute was deployed but not fully opened.
The government media office in Gaza confirmed the casualties after the incident occurred on Friday. They also hit out at the “useless” airdrops terming it as “flashy propaganda rather than a humanitarian service.” It added that food must be allowed through land crossings.
“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,” it said in a statement narrating the tragedy.
The people of Gaza are in a state of dire crisis with hunger causing the deaths of several children.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs last month stated that at least half a million, or one in four people in Gaza, face famine and are in desperate need of humanitarian relief.
Israeli authorities have been restricting the delivery of supplies to the displaced individuals in Gaza.
Deliveries by the World Food Programme have been halted as the Israeli authorities forced its first convoy to the north in two weeks to return, causing security concerns.
The United States, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt have carried out similar airdrops, which are being criticised by aid agencies as a costly and ineffective way of delivering food and medical supplies.
US denies responsibility for Gaza mishap
With the US being the most recent to have airdropped supplies in Gaza on Friday evening, it has denied responsibility for the mishap. “We are aware of reports of civilians killed as a result of humanitarian airdrops. We express sympathies to the families of those who were killed. Contrary to some reports, this was not the result of U.S. airdrops.” This was the US’ second airdrop to Gaza.
