The president of the United States, Joe Biden, announced this Friday the next air drop of packages with food and medicine in the Gaza Strip, opening the possibility of establishing a maritime corridor to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave.
During a meeting at the White House with the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, the president highlighted the urgency of the situation and the need to intensify humanitarian efforts in the region, the EFE news agency published. However, during his announcement, he made a mistake by mentioning Ukraine instead of Gaza.
“In the coming days, we will join our friends in Jordan and others to provide airdrops of food and supplies for Ukraine,” Biden initially said before correcting the error. “We will seek to open other routes to Gaza, including the possibility of a maritime corridor to deliver large quantities of food,” he added.
The president insisted on the importance of increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza and putting pressure on Israel to facilitate the entry of more trucks and the opening of new land routes for the entry of aid to the enclave. He also expressed his hope that Israel would cooperate to ensure that hundreds of trucks can access Gaza and not just a few.
In addition, he expressed his hope that an agreement will soon be reached for the release of the Hamas hostages and a six-week ceasefire in the Israeli offensive on Gaza, which would allow humanitarian aid to enter the entire strip and help mitigate the humanitarian crisis facing the population.
In recent months, Gaza has suffered a devastating war that has claimed the lives of more than 30,200 people, including 115 Gazans who lost their lives in a tragic incident during food distribution in the city last Thursday, EFE noted.
Israel admitted opening fire, but attributed the high number of casualties to an avalanche caused by hungry crowds.
Hamas announced the death of more hostages
The terrorist group Hamas reported this Friday on the death of seven hostages it held in its custody in the Gaza Strip, as a result of the bombings carried out by Israel. With this heartbreaking event, the total number of kidnapped people who have died in captivity since the beginning of the conflict rises to 70, according to the group’s official count.
“We tried to keep them alive, but (Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on killing them, all seven, by attacks by the Israeli Army,” Abu Obeida, spokesman for the al-Qasam Brigades, the organization’s armed wing, said in a statement. cited by EFE.
Among the confirmed victims, Hamas reportedly identified three elderly Israelis: Haim Peri, Yoram Itak Metzger and Amiram Cooper, with whom they had lost contact weeks earlier.
“After exhaustive examination and verification over the past few weeks, we have confirmed the martyrdom of several of our fighters and the murder of seven enemy prisoners in the Strip as a result of the Zionist bombardment. We will announce the names of the other four deceased after confirming their identities,” Obeida said.
Keep reading:
• More than 100 dead in Israel’s attack on a group of people waiting for humanitarian aid in Gaza
• Benjamin Netanyahu contradicts Biden and affirms that his offensive in Gaza has international support
• Biden says Israel would be willing to stop war during Ramadan if agreement is reached on hostages held by Hamas