US evades answering whether aid can be air dropped into Gaza

The US evaded answering a question Monday whether humanitarian aid could be air-dropped into the Gaza Strip after Jordan successfully resupplied its army-managed hospital in the besieged enclave by air.

Washington has focused its efforts on bringing desperately needed aid into Gaza via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. The US is also considering a plan to establish an aid corridor via the nearby island of Cyprus.

On Monday, a reporter asked State Department Spokesperson Vedant Patel why the Administration didn’t replicate Jordan’s successful resupply of its hospital to surge aid into Gaza.

Patel refused to speak “to the specifics of the security parameters” of such an operation, adding that he didn’t have “the expertise to speak to that.”

Jordan’s rare move appeared to be the first time aid was delivered directly into Gaza by air, bypassing the Rafah border crossing altogether.