Name: Biden Orders Airdrops to Expand Humanitarian Deliveries to Embattled Gaza
Uploaded: 2024-03-02T04:13:10.000Z
Description: The U.S. government will begin airdropping humanitarian assistance into the Gaza Strip in hopes of widening the flow of critical supplies to civilians in the embattled territory.

Arian Pasdar is an international correspondent for NTD News based in South America. His reporting focuses on immigration and key events in Latin America.

Arian Pasdar

NTD Plus

News

News with integrity, from the United States and around the world. Focused reports and analyses that shed light on major issues the world deserves to know. NTD Evening News airs daily at 6 p.m. ET.

NTD Evening News

US and Mexico Start 3-Day USMCA Trade Talks After Us Imposed 50 Percent Tariff on Canada

David Lam is a national correspondent based in California and a part-time anchor for "NTD Tonight." Before joining NTD he was a financial analyst.

David Lam

66 Percent of California Adults Oppose 2035 Zero-Emission Car Mandate

Cary Dunst is the news anchor for NTD Evening News. He is also the co-host of NTD Good Morning.


Cary Dunst

‘It’s About Time’: Brownstone Institute President’s Reaction to Federal Government’s Pause on Medicaid Payments

Christina Corona is a California-based reporter for NTD News. She primarily covers California news, politics, and entertainment.  

Christina Corona

Novo Nordisk Sues Eli Lilly Over Drug Ads

Jack Bradley is a Washington correspondent for NTD News based in Washington, D.C. Jack previously anchored "NTD Newsroom" and worked as an assistant producer for the show. 

Jack Bradley

Capitol Hill Panel Warns of CCP Human Rights Abuses, AI, and Cyber Warfare

Sam Wang is a Washington correspondent for NTD News based in Washington, D.C. Sam covers politics on Capitol Hill, and U.S.-China relations. 

Sam Wang

Citizens React to Socialist Trend Within Democratic Party

Fiona Ji is a reporter based at NTD's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers local news.

Fiona Ji

New State Department Report Describes Cuban Regime's Subversion in US

Communist Cuba’s 'Decade Long Project to Sow Discord Within the US': Policy Analyst

Calls Grow to Hold CCP Officials Accountable for Ongoing Persecution of Falun Gong

Dave Martin is NTD's Senior Sports Reporter and sports analyst. He also hosts "Data Hub" segments during NTD's special election coverage, "The Nation Decides."

Dave Martin

Lionel Messi’s Potential Retirement In Discussion

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 21)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 20)

Chris Beers is an NTD News anchor and political correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Chris co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

Chris Beers

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 19)

Arleen Richards is NTD's legal correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers all major legal stories. Arleen holds a Doctor of Law (J.D.).


Arleen Richards

Full Episodes

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 18)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 17)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 16)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 15)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 14)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 13)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 12)

Tom Gantert is a reporter for The Epoch Times.

Tom Gantert

Melina Wisecup is NTD's congressional correspondent based in Washington, covering Capitol Hill and campaign politics.

Melina Wisecup

US News

Politics

Executive Branch

Trump Uses Recent Speeches to Warn Americans of Resurging Communism

NTD+ is a streaming platform featuring exclusive programming, investigative news analysis, and award-winning documentaries.


NTD+

Shorts

Alleged Reflecting Pool Vandalism Caught on Video

Juliet Song is an international correspondent exclusively covering China news for NTD. She primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus," covering U.S.-China relations, the Chinese regime's human rights abuses, and domestic unrest inside China.

Juliet Song

Shows

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

2.8 Million People in China Evacuated Amid Typhoon Bavi

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

Iran's Football Team Leaves Note of Friendship

Joseph Lord is a congressional reporter for The Epoch Times.


Joseph Lord

Congress

House Passes Legislation to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

Sen. Lindsey Graham Likely Died After Aorta Tear, Medical Examiner Says

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. 

Jack Phillips

Andrew Thomas is a reporter for NTD News primarily covering business, the economy, and technology. 

Andrew Thomas

World News

Middle East

UN Maritime Group to Rescue 11,000 Sailors Stranded in Middle East

Mary Man is a writer for NTD. She has traveled around the world covering China, international news, and arts and culture.

Mary Man

China News

China Floods: Thousands at Risk After Multiple Dams Collapse in Guangxi

NTD Films

NTD+ Movies

The Unrestricted War

Ryan Morgan is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on military and foreign affairs. He was previously a news writer for NTD. 


Ryan Morgan

Iran

US, Iran Launch New Strikes; Trump Warns Ceasefire May Collapse

The U.S. government will begin airdropping humanitarian assistance into the Gaza Strip in hopes of widening the flow of critical supplies to civilians in the embattled territory.

Speaking at a White House meeting on Friday, President Joe Biden said the United States would join the Kingdom of Jordan and other neighboring countries that have delivered humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip by air after the outbreak of fighting in the territory.

The U.S. president said his administration would look for additional avenues to speed the flow of humanitarian supplies into the territory, "including the possibility of a marine corridor." The Gaza Strip is bordered to the west by the Mediterranean Sea.

President Biden's moves to expand humanitarian aid came a day after a chaotic incident in which dozens of people were killed, and hundreds more were injured amid reports of gunfire and stampeding as a convoy of trucks delivered supplies overland along the Nabulsi roundabout in north Gaza. There are conflicting claims about what caused these deaths and injuries, with the Israeli government attributing many of the casualties to people being trampled as a crowd beset the aid trucks and looted the supplies. Other reports suggest people in the crowd were killed when Israel Defense Force (IDF) members lining the humanitarian corridor fired their weapons.

While the exact circumstances are still unclear and under investigation, Egyptian, Jordanian, and Saudi Arabian foreign ministry officials placed much of the blame for the injuries and deaths on the Israeli forces in their initial reactions to the chaotic incident.

"The loss of life is heartbreaking," President Biden said on Friday while discussing humanitarian aid and the incident along the Nabulsi roundabout. "People are so desperate that innocent people got caught in a terrible war unable to feed their families, and you saw the response when they tried to get aid in."

Assessing both the deadly incident at the Nabulsi roundabout and the overall humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, President Biden said "we need to do more and the United States will do more."

The president said humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip need to be sustained by hundreds of supply trucks but said residents there have received "just several."
<div class="segment style-scope ytd-transcript-segment-renderer" role="button" aria-label="3 minutes, 55 seconds they need no excuses because the truth">

"The truth is aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough now. It's nowhere nearly enough," he said. "Innocent lives are on the line and children's lives are on the line and we won't stand by."
<h2>New Allegations Follow Deadly Aid Delivery</h2>
Addressing the chaotic incident on Thursday evening, IDF Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesman, said IDF soldiers and tanks had lined the humanitarian aid corridor near the Nabulsi roundabout.

"Thousands of Gazans dispensed upon the trucks. Some began violently pushing and even trampling other Gazans to death looting the humanitarian supplies," Mr. Hagari said. "The unfortunate incident resulted in dozens of Gazans killed and injured."

The Israeli military officer said as the crowds were first seen swarming around the convoy of about 30 delivery trucks, Israeli tanks "cautiously tried to disperse the mob with a few warning shots," but later backed away as the chaotic crowd continued. He said no further IDF strike was conducted on the aid convoy.

Axios previously reported, citing an IDF official, that Israeli troops fired some warning shots as the crowds closed in on them and then fired at the legs of those who continued to approach. This IDF official said around ten civilians were hit by the Israeli soldiers’ fire, a casualty assessment also shared with The Times of Israel.

As of Friday, health officials in Gaza have assessed 115 people were killed and more than 750 others were injured.

Dr. Mohammed Salha, the acting director of Al-Awda Hospital, told The Associated Press that of the 176 wounded brought to the hospital, 142 had gunshot wounds, and the other 34 showed injuries from a stampede.

Dr. Husam Abu Safyia, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip, separately told The Associated Press that the majority of the injured brought to his hospital had sustained gunshot wounds to the upper parts of their bodies, with multiple individuals dying with gunshot wounds to the head, neck, or chest.
<h2>The Humanitarian Situation in Gaza</h2>
</div>
The Gaza Strip has been a battle zone since October. The fighting there began after Hamas gunmen breached the Gaza-Israel barrier on Oct. 7 and carried out a series of attacks across southern Israel, resulting in more than 1,100 people killed, thousands more injured, and around 250 taken back to Gaza as hostages.

In the days following the Oct. 7 attack, Israeli forces blockaded the territory. Israeli forces also began a campaign of air strikes, followed by a ground invasion of the territory.

The exact number of civilian casualties resulting from the ongoing fighting cannot be immediately verified.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, which operates under the auspices of Hamas’ political control of the Gaza Strip, more than 30,000 Gazans have been killed, and more than 71,000 have been injured. The Gaza Health Ministry does not clearly distinguish between lawful combatants and non-combatants.

According to a statement organized last week by various United Nations agencies and international non-profits, those killed and wounded in the Gaza Strip consist mostly of women and children. The joint statement also estimates more than three-quarters of Gaza's population have been displaced, some more than once, and face shortages of food, water, sanitation, and healthcare. The statement further assessed there have been more than 370 attacks impacting healthcare sights in the Gaza Strip, and just 12 of 36 inpatient hospitals in the territory remain even partially functional at this point.

President Biden has seen growing pressure, including from his fellow Democrats, to do more to help the Palestinians. Several Democrats have <a href="https://www.ntd.com/progressive-house-democrats-bring-ceasefire-resolution-to-halt-israel-hamas-war_948332.html">urged a ceasefire</a> in the ongoing conflict and have sought to <a href="https://www.ntd.com/bernie-sanders-bid-to-tie-israel-military-aid-to-humanitarian-assurances-rejected-by-senate_967020.html">attach humanitarian compliance controls</a> to new rounds of U.S. military aid for Israel.

On Wednesday, Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Angus King (I-Maine) sent a letter to President Biden, urging his administration to deploy a military hospital ship to treat injured Gazans and to open a sea route for new humanitarian aid deliveries.

Addressing the Nabulsi roundabout incident on Thursday evening, Mr. Hagari said Israel's war is with Hamas, not the people of Gaza, and Israel is seeking to expand humanitarian efforts.

"Hamas started this war when it massacred and kidnapped Israeli civilians on October 7, and then went back into Gaza and hid behind the Gazan civilians, using them as a human shield," he said. "We recognize the suffering of the innocent people of Gaza. This is why we are seeking ways to expand our humanitarian efforts."

Latest

Videos

04_Top Stories

Latest Clips

Management

Jason Perry is an Army veteran and NTD's national security correspondent. Jason primarily covers border security, national defense, foreign wars, and veterans' issues.

Jason Perry

02_Second Lead

U.S. President Joe Biden

Israel–Hamas War

Israel-Hamas war

Gaza aid

Gaza civilian deaths

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.

Biden Orders Airdrops to Expand Humanitarian Deliveries to Embattled Gaza

Stefania Cox is an NTD News anchor and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Stefania anchors "NTD Newsroom," and co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

Stefania Cox

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (July 21)

We present news that is truthful and based on facts, outside of the political fog. Instead of focusing on the negative things happening around us, our mission is to give our viewers a good morning with empathetic and uplifting stories. Our aim is to provide an antidote to negativity by shining a light on the best side of people. We speak to inspiring people who positively impact communities, pursue topics that represent our common human values, and will never miss an opportunity to bring you heartwarming stories.

NTD Good Morning

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 21)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (July 20)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 20)

Special Coverage

[LIVE July 23 at 11:30 AM ET] 2026 Rally and March to End the Persecution of Falun Dafa

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (July 17)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 17)

Tiffany Meier is an anchor, China news investigative reporter, and producer for NTD News based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Tiffany anchors NTD's flagship shows "NTD Evening News" and "China in Focus" and co-moderates NTD's special election coverage "The Nation Decides." She produced the award-winning NTD Original documentary "Hollywood Takeover: China's Control in the Film Industry."


Tiffany Meier

NTD Special Coverage: Trump Addresses the Nation

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (July 16)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 16)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (July 15)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 15)

Kevin Hogan is an NTD News data reporter and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Kevin covers breaking news, as well as U.S. and global current events. He conveys the news through data visualizations and investigates pressing issues.