5 Killed, 10 Wounded After Parachute Fails To Open During Humanitarian Aid Drop In Gaza

Five people were killed and at least 10 were injured on Friday after a humanitarian airdrop's parachute failed to open following which a pallet crashed into a group of civilians who had queued for food at the Al-Shati refugee camp in the northern territory of Palestine. The casualties were immediately rushed to Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital, news agency AFP reported citing the hospital's emergency head nurse Mohammed al-Sheikh.

As per a witness, he and his brother followed the parachuted aid, hoping to get a "bag of flour" but the "parachute did not open and fell like a rocket on the roof of one of the houses, AFP quoted the 50-year-old witness Mohammed al-Ghoul saying. 

"Ten minutes later I saw people transferring three martyrs and others injured, who were staying on the roof of the house where the aid packages fell," the witness told AFP.

US And Jordan Deny Involvement

As per reports, Jordan's military and the US have denied that it was their country's aircraft which caused the fatalities. 

AFP reported a Jordan military source stating that the kingdom had nothing to do with the fatal airdrop on Friday. "The technical defect that caused some parachutes carrying aid not to open and to fall freely to the ground during the airdrop on Gaza on Friday was not from a Jordanian aircraft," the source said.

The United States and Jordan are among the countries that have carried out airdrops in northern Gaza, a region where thousands of people are fighting to survive under dire conditions amid the war. However, it is believed that the humanitarian aid was carried out in partnership with the Netherlands, Egypt, Belgium, and France.

What The Gaza Government Said

Following the incident, the Gaza government stated that the airdrops were "useless" and "flashy propaganda rather than humanitarian service." 

"We previously warned it poses a threat to the lives of citizens in the Gaza Strip and this is what happened today when the parcels fell on the citizens' heads," AFP quoted the Gaza government saying.

UN On Aid Airdrop In Gaza

Following the incident, the United Nations stated that airdrops or the proposed maritme aid corridor cannot be the substitutes for land deliveries. UN further urged that more trucks must be allowed to reach Gaza through border crossings.