Jordan’s King Participates in Gaza Aid Airdrop

The Jordanian King, accompanied by military leaders, monitored the delivery of aid to the residents of Gaza on Tuesday. (Military Media)
The Jordanian King, accompanied by military leaders, monitored the delivery of aid to the residents of Gaza on Tuesday. (Military Media)
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Jordan’s King Participates in Gaza Aid Airdrop

The Jordanian King, accompanied by military leaders, monitored the delivery of aid to the residents of Gaza on Tuesday. (Military Media)
The Jordanian King, accompanied by military leaders, monitored the delivery of aid to the residents of Gaza on Tuesday. (Military Media)

Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Tuesday participated in an airdrop of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, according to the military.

"Six C130 aircraft, including three from the Royal Jordanian Air Force and three from the UAE, Egypt, and France, took off from the capital Amman as part of a humanitarian aid operation aimed at alleviating the suffering of Gaza residents,'' the army said in a statement.

It said the king directly monitored the preparation and loading process before the plane departed from King Abdullah II Air Base.

The move is the second by the monarch as official media had earlier shared a video of him during a relief airdrop operation to Gaza on Feb 11.

The operation "aimed at delivering aid to the population directly and drop it along the coast of the Gaza Strip from north to south," the Jordanian army statement said.

It comprised "relief and food supplies, including ready-made meals of high nutritional value, to alleviate the suffering of the people of the Gaza Strip.”

"One of the aircraft was allocated to the Jordanian field hospital in the southern Gaza Strip, which suffers from a severe shortage of essential supplies,'' it added.

The Jordanian Armed Forces announced on Monday that they conducted four airdrops to deliver humanitarian aid to the people in the Gaza Strip.

The airdrops were carried out by four C130 aircraft, one of which belongs to the French Armed Forces, it said.

JAF said that the participation of the French army in the operation underscores international support for Jordan’s humanitarian commitment to the people of Gaza.

“It also reflects the strong bilateral relations between Jordan and France and reaffirms Jordan’s pivotal role in coordinating international efforts to deliver essential aid to the war-torn strip.”

Aid was dropped to 11 sites along the Gaza coast from its northern edge to the south for civilians to collect, army spokesperson Mustafa Hiyari said.

Jordan has conducted a total of 16 air-drop operations since the war broke out on October 7.



Israel’s Netanyahu Says Will Not Leave Gaza Border Corridor until It Is Secure

02 September 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa
02 September 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa
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Israel’s Netanyahu Says Will Not Leave Gaza Border Corridor until It Is Secure

02 September 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa
02 September 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa

Israel will not withdraw its troops from the border area between southern Gaza and Egypt until there is a guarantee that it can never be used as a lifeline for the Hamas movement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday.

"Until that happens, we're there," he told a news conference in Jerusalem.

The issue of the Philadelphi corridor has been a major sticking point in efforts to secure a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza and return Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Some 101 hostages are still being held in Gaza.

Netanyahu's stance on the negotiations, which have been continuing for weeks while showing little sign of a breakthrough, has frustrated allies, including the United States, and widened a rift with his own defense minister, Yoav Gallant.

Benny Gantz, a former general and chief of staff who had been part of Netanyahu's war cabinet until he quit in June, said Iran, not the so-called Philadelphi corridor, on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip bordering Egypt, was Israel's main existential threat.

Israel does not need to keep troops in the southern Gazan border area for security reasons and should not be used as a reason to prevent a deal to bring back remaining hostages from the Gaza Strip, he said on Tuesday.

In a news conference in response to comments on Monday by Netanyahu, who held firm in his belief that Israel needed troops in Philadelphi, Gantz said that while the corridor was important to prevent Hamas and other Palestinian militants from smuggling weapons into Gaza, soldiers would be "sitting ducks" and won't stop tunnels.

Responding to Gantz, Netanyahu said in a statement that since Gantz and his party left the government, Israel has eliminated key Hamas and Hezbollah leaders and seized the Philadelphi corridor, "the lifeline by which Hamas arms itself".

"Whoever does not contribute to the victory and the return of the hostages would do well not to interfere," he said.