UK halts Gaza aid drops after mishap killed five: The Telegraph

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Telegraph
14 Mar 2024 02:43
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Sources close to the UK Defence Secretary were cited as saying that the decision was motivated by concerns for safety.

This picture shows an Egyptian Air Force C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft dropping humanitarian aid over the Gaza Strip on March 13, 2024. (AFP)

Grant Shapps, the UK Defence Secretary, has halted the airdropping of British aid into the Gaza Strip following an incident where a parcel resulted in the deaths of five Palestinians last week, The Telegraph reported Wednesday.

Five Palestinians, including two children, were killed on Friday due to an aid airdrop mishap, where at least one parachute malfunctioned, causing a package to fall on them in the al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza.

It is understood that Shapps expressed concerns regarding the safety of parachuting aid into the Strip after the incident, the news website indicated.

Sources close to the UK Defence Secretary were cited as saying that the decision was motivated by concerns for safety, revealing that the UK had developed plans for constructing a new sea pier in Gaza to establish a more efficient route for delivering essential supplies to the Strip.

The Palestinian people in Gaza are facing dire shortages of food, water and medicine, and several cases of people dying from starvation were reported as the Israeli occupation forces continue to delay the entry of much-needed aid across the Strip.

Last week, the UN aid coordinator for the Gaza Strip emphasized that delivering humanitarian supplies to Gaza by airdrops or sea cannot sufficiently substitute land deliveries.

Sigrid Kaag said her message to the UN Security Council was that the international community must "flood the market in Gaza with humanitarian goods" and "re-energize the private sector" so more commercial goods can enter to meet civilians' needs.

"The diversification of the supply routes via land" remains the optimal solution, she stressed.

"It's easier, it's faster, it's cheaper, particularly if we know that we need to sustain humanitarian assistance to Gazans for a long period of time."

Kaag welcomed the airdrops, which she said were a "symbol of support for the civilians in Gaza" and a "testimony to our shared humanity."

"But it's a drop in the ocean, it is far from enough," said the former Dutch Finance Minister who was appointed in December following a Security Council resolution calling for "large-scale" aid for Gaza.