Jordan Dismisses Officials in Wake of Aqaba Port Incident

This image grab taken from a CCTV footage broadcasted by Jordan's Al-Mamlaka TV on June 27, 2022 shows the moment of a toxic gas explosion in Jordan's Aqaba port.(Al-Mamlaka TV / AFP)
This image grab taken from a CCTV footage broadcasted by Jordan's Al-Mamlaka TV on June 27, 2022 shows the moment of a toxic gas explosion in Jordan's Aqaba port.(Al-Mamlaka TV / AFP)
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Jordan Dismisses Officials in Wake of Aqaba Port Incident

This image grab taken from a CCTV footage broadcasted by Jordan's Al-Mamlaka TV on June 27, 2022 shows the moment of a toxic gas explosion in Jordan's Aqaba port.(Al-Mamlaka TV / AFP)
This image grab taken from a CCTV footage broadcasted by Jordan's Al-Mamlaka TV on June 27, 2022 shows the moment of a toxic gas explosion in Jordan's Aqaba port.(Al-Mamlaka TV / AFP)

Jordan on Sunday dismissed senior officials at the country's main Red Sea port of Aqaba after finding gross negligence was behind the deaths of 13 people following a chlorine gas leak at a major berth.

The cabinet took the decision to fire the director general of state-owned Aqaba Company for Ports Operation and Management and other port officials after an investigation showed “great deficiency and negligence in safety protocols for dealing with hazardous materials in the Aqaba port,” Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh said during a cabinet meeting.

At a press conference on Sunday, Interior Minister Mazin al-Farrayeh said the results of the investigation, which began shortly after the incident and includes the testimony of more than 120 people, would be handed over to the public prosecutor.

“The necessary measures for general safety in handling such dangerous hazardous materials were not taken,” Farrayeh said, adding he expected those responsible to be put on trial.

The deaths and injury of over 300 workers came after a crane loading chlorine containers onto a ship last Monday dropped one onto the quay, causing it to explode.

The gas canister's weight far exceeded the maximum load of the crane cable bearing it, said Farrayeh, who headed the investigation.

“The container weighed about 28,900 tons, which is over three times more than the capacity of the cable of 8.6 tons, causing it to break,” he told a news conference.

A total of “18 containers of chlorine gas were supposed to be loaded onto the ship,” he said.

“During the loading of the fifth, the cable broke and the container fell, leading to the gas leak,” he added.

Farrayeh blamed the incident on “recklessness and negligence” at several levels, saying the port company had failed to show leadership.

Minister of State for Media Affairs Faisal al-Shboul, for his part, said there are only eight people who are still receiving treatment in hospitals following the incident.

He affirmed that the response of the state institutions was “immediate and professional.”

“The health system in Aqaba proved to be highly efficient in handling the effects of the tragic accident,” Shboul noted, adding that the government field hospital received 45% of the cases.



UN Chief Slams US-Backed Gaza Aid Operation: ‘It Is Killing People’

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press briefing during the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) at the Centre des Expositions conference centre in Nice, France, June 10, 2025. (Reuters)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press briefing during the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) at the Centre des Expositions conference centre in Nice, France, June 10, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Chief Slams US-Backed Gaza Aid Operation: ‘It Is Killing People’

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press briefing during the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) at the Centre des Expositions conference centre in Nice, France, June 10, 2025. (Reuters)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press briefing during the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) at the Centre des Expositions conference centre in Nice, France, June 10, 2025. (Reuters)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that a US-backed aid operation in Gaza is "inherently unsafe," giving a blunt assessment: "It is killing people."

Israel and the United States want the UN to work through the controversial new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but the UN has refused, questioning its neutrality and accusing the distribution model of militarizing aid and forcing displacement.

"Any operation that channels desperate civilians into militarized zones is inherently unsafe. It is killing people," Guterres told reporters.

Guterres said UN-led humanitarian efforts are being "strangled," aid workers themselves are starving and Israel as the occupying power is required to agree to and facilitate aid deliveries into and throughout the Palestinian enclave.

"People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families. The search for food must never be a death sentence," Guterres told reporters.

"It is time to find the political courage for a ceasefire in Gaza."

Since Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on May 19, allowing limited UN deliveries to resume, the United Nations says more than 400 Palestinians have been killed seeking aid from both the UN and GHF operations. A senior UN official said on Sunday that the majority of those people were trying to reach GHF sites.

Responding to Guterres on Friday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Israel’s military never targets civilians and accused the UN of "doing everything it can" to oppose the GHF aid operation.

"In doing so, the UN is aligning itself with Hamas, which is also trying to sabotage the GHF’s humanitarian operations," it posted on X.

A GHF spokesperson said there have been no deaths at or near any of the GHF aid distribution sites.

"It is unfortunate the UN continue to push false information regarding our operations," the GHF spokesperson said. "Bottom line, our aid is getting securely delivered. Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome the UN and other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza."

GHF uses private US security and logistics firms to operate. It began operations in Gaza on May 26 and said on Friday so far it has given out more than 48 million meals.

The US State Department said on Thursday it had approved $30 million in funding for the GHF and called on other countries to also support the group.

Israel and the United States have accused Hamas of stealing aid from the UN-led operations, which the group denies.