Washington — President Biden announced Friday that the U.S. will airdrop humanitarian aid to Gaza as the United Nations warns of imminent famine amid the Israel-Hamas war.
“In the coming days we’re going to join with our friends in Jordan and others in providing airdrops of additional food and supplies,” Mr. Biden said ahead of a meeting with the Italian prime minister in the Oval Office on Friday.
He said the U.S. would put pressure on Israel to facilitate more truck deliveries of humanitarian aid “to get more and more people the help they need.” Mr. Biden also said the opening of a “marine corridor” was a possibility to deliver a large amount of humanitarian assistance.
“No excuses, because the truth is, aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough,” Mr. Biden said. “Innocent lives are on the line and children’s lives are on the line.”
A number of countries have condemned Israeli forces for firing on Palestinians who were waiting for food and other desperately needed aid in an open area of Gaza City on Thursday.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health, which is run by Hamas, said more than 100 people were killed and more than 750 were wounded. Israel said many were fatally trampled in the chaos of the aid delivery, and that its troops fired when they felt endangered.
Mr. Biden called it a “tragic and alarming event.”
“The loss of life is heartbreaking,” he said. “People are so desperate that innocent people got caught in a terrible war, unable to feed their families. And you saw the response when they tried to get aid, and we need to do more. The United States will do more.”
Thanks for reading CBS NEWS.
Create your free account or log in
for more features.