President Joe Biden, on Saturday, addressing the United States’ airdrops conducted with Jordan that delivered humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, said the assistance will not be a one-time occurrence.
In a post on X, the president said that “the amount of aid flowing to Gaza is not nearly enough” and vowed to “continue to pull out every stop we can to get more aid in.”
According to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the combatant command worked with the Jordanian air force to deliver what it said were more than 38,000 meals “along the coastline of Gaza allowing for civilian access to the critical aid.”
CENTCOM announced in an X post that it is “conducting planning for potential follow-on airborne aid delivery missions” and that the airdrops, carried out on Saturday afternoon in Gaza, were “part of a sustained effort to get more aid into Gaza, including by expanding the flow of aid through land corridors and routes.”
Axios reported last week that the U.S. had only recently begun considering the possibility of sending humanitarian aid to Gaza, with the option appearing feasible to the Biden administration once Jordan successfully conducted airdrops alongside Egypt and France.
The move to send assistance to Gaza comes alongside Biden’s continued push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. A Biden-administration official told reporters on Saturday that the Israeli government had “basically accepted” the terms of a proposal for a six-week cease-fire meant to facilitate the release of elderly and injured hostages, though no specific number has been provided as to how many of the approximately 100 Israelis believed to be in Hamas captivity would be freed. The potential cease-fire is also intended to provide a window for Israel to allow more aid into the Gaza Strip.
On Sunday, however, Israel boycotted cease-fire discussions held in Cairo after Hamas rejected a demand to release a list of hostages in Gaza who are still alive, Israeli outlet Ynet reported.
“Until clear answers are given,” an Israeli official reportedly said, “a delegation would not be leaving to Cairo.”