Hamas Calls For End To Aid Airdrops Following 2 Deaths In Gaza

Hamas called for an end to airdrops of aid on Thursday, following the deaths of two Palestinians in northern Gaza when an aid pallet crashed into a warehouse after its parachute failed to open.

Several countries, including the United States, Britain, and France, have launched frequent supply aid airdrops in northern Gaza, where humanitarian agencies have warned of a looming famine.

On Tuesday, two people were killed when an aid parachute landed on the roof of a warehouse where villagers had gathered to collect relief goods.

According to Hamas officials, the latest fatalities bring the total number of persons killed by airdrops to at least 21.

In a statement, the head of the government’s media office in Gaza, Salama Marouf, stated, “We reiterate that airdrops pose a real danger to the lives of citizens and do not provide a real solution to alleviate the food crisis plaguing northern Gaza”.

“We call for an immediate halt to the delivery of aid in this ineffective and erroneous manner, and we call for the full activation of the land crossings to deliver humanitarian aid to northern Gaza”, Marouf added.

With only a trickle of aid reaching the famished north and the United Nations warning of imminent famine, foreign governments have turned to airdrops to get aid into the region.

Aid agencies claimed that the situation has worsened this week after Israeli forces closed the Rafah border crossing with Egypt after seizing control.

Relief also has not been delivered to Gaza via the other crossing between Israel and the Palestinian territory, Kerem Shalom, which has been targeted by rockets three times since Sunday.

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