Jordan, Israel Coordinate Airdrop of Medical Aid to Gaza Hospital
Facts
- Jordan's King Abdullah II announced on Monday that the country airdropped 'urgent medical aid' to a Jordanian field hospital in the Gaza Strip as concerns regarding supply shortages at overcrowded hospitals grow amid Israel's conflict with Hamas.1
- Jordan's state news agency reported that 'supplies were about to run out due to the delay of delivering aid through Rafah crossing,' thus necessitating the airdrop.2
- In a social media post, Abdullah said: 'This is our duty to aid our brothers and sisters injured in the war on Gaza. We will always be there for our Palestinian brethren.'2
- An anonymous US official told the Times of Israel that the US and Israel had coordinated with Jordan to deliver the aid, as Israel controls the airspace over Gaza. The Israeli military said that the aid “will be used by the medical staff for patients,” and also included food.3
- The airdrop comes as relations between Jordan and Israel have deteriorated amid the most recent fighting in Gaza. Jordan recalled its ambassador to Israel last week, saying that Israel's bombardment of Gaza had killed innocents and caused a humanitarian catastrophe.4
- Nearly 10K people in Gaza have been killed since the conflict began on Oct. 7 after Hamas launched a surprise attack into Israel that killed 1.4K people. The Israeli military has encircled Gaza City in the north of the strip, as the US continues to push for a regional consensus on the conflict.5
Sources: 1Arab News, 2The New Arab, 3Forbes, 4The Jerusalem Post and 5The Guardian.
Narratives
- Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. Though the Jordanian airdrop of aid into Gaza is an important move to alleviate the strip's worsening humanitarian crisis, it's merely a drop in the bucket as Gaza faces shortages of food, water, electricity, and fuel caused by Israel’s blockade and relentless and reckless bombing. Israel has created an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
- Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by The Jerusalem Post. Israel is well aware of the suffering of Gazans under Hamas' terrorist leadership and has been open to allowing the flow of humanitarian aid into the strip. Tel Aviv is focused on the national security priority of defeating Hamas, which has been trying to steal aid meant for civilians, and has absolutely no interest in causing unnecessary suffering for civilians.