Jordan's King Abdullah participates in Gaza aid airdrop

Jordan's King Abdullah participated in an airdrop of humanitarian aid to Gaza, state-owned Al Mamlaka broadcaster said on Sunday.

A video showed the monarch in military gear on board a plane in the latest mission by the Jordanian air force to drop urgent medical supplies to field hospitals it runs in the war-torn enclave. According to official media, the latest airdrop was on 6 February.

The kingdom, which has been among Arab neighbours pushing Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, is the only country that airdrops aid to the enclave, channelling it through these two medical facilities.

It has conducted 11 airdrops, with at least two conducted with the French and Dutch airforces, to deliver medical aid.

The king, who has been vocal in calling for an end to Israel's campaign, left on Thursday on a tour of major western capitals and is due to meet US President Joe Biden in Washington on 12 February to lobby for an immediate ceasefire.

Jordan, which shares a border with the West Bank, fears that the Gaza conflict could spread, with wider violence by armed settlers encouraged by the army triggering a large-scale Palestinian exodus to the other side of the Jordan River.