5 Gaza children were killed by an aid parcel attached to a parachute that failed to open during a humanitarian airdrop
Five children were reportedly killed by an aid airdrop in Gaza when a parachute failed to deploy properly.
JACK GUEZ; Getty Images
- Five children were killed in Gaza when a parachute malfunctioned during a humanitarian aid airdrop.
- The US and other countries have begun airdropping aid into the enclave amid severe food shortages.
- Israel has been criticized for limiting the delivery of aid to Gaza, which it has denied.
Five children were killed in the Gaza Strip and others injured by a humanitarian aid airdrop on Friday, the Gaza Ministry of Health said.
An unidentified foreign country was dropping the aid, and US Central Command said that it was not from the US.
Witnesses said that the accident occurred when a parachute attached to the pallet failed to deploy properly, and the parcel fell on a group of people hoping to receive the supplies, The Guardian reported.
A video obtained by CNN shows one airdropped package swiftly plummeting to the ground.
The US and other countries have taken to airdropping humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip this month as aid faces hurdles entering the enclave and Israel refuses to open up more aid routes.
"We're going to insist that Israel facilitate more trucks and more routes to get more and more people the help they need," President Joe Biden said when announcing the aid drops earlier this month. "No excuses because the truth is, aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough."
Israel has previously said it has cooperated with several countries to facilitate airdrops into Gaza.
Hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza are close to starvation, United Nations officials say, as food shortages continue and reports say civilians are turning to eating animal feed to survive.
Humanitarian aid groups have criticized Israel for not letting enough aid trucks into Gaza, keeping critical crossing closed, and creating logistical hurdles.
Israel has denied the accusations and has blamed the UN for failing to distribute aid, which the UN disputes.
Israel continues with its siege of Gaza, which has left more than 30,000 people dead, many of them civilians.