At least five people were killed and 10 others injured when airdropped aid packages fell on them in the Al Shati camp west of Gaza City, according to Hamas-run Ministry of Health.
Footages posted on social media showed a large cluster of aid parcels suspended from parachutes drifting through the sky but appearing to get tangled before one, with its chute deployed but not fully opened, dropped much more quickly than the rest.
The people were in the Al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza, and the incident occurred at around 11:30 a.m. local time.
The U.S., Jordan, Egypt, France, the Netherlands and Belgium dropped aid over Gaza on Friday in an attempt to get supplies, including desperately needed food, to residents amid an ever-worsening humanitarian crisis there.
United States Air Force drops humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Saturday, March 9, 2024.
(AP Photo/Mohammed Hajjar)
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) denied in a statement that the fatalities were not caused by U.S. airdrops.
“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,” CENTCOM said.
