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Deadly aid drop incident in Gaza, Hamas declared tough on Israel

Mar 09, 2024

Gaza [Palestine], March 9: The dead and injured were taken to Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City , the hospital's emergency room nursing chief, Mohammed al-Sheikh, told AFP. This person also said that the deadly aid airdrop occurred north of the Al-Shati refugee camp.
Mohammed al-Ghoul, a witness from the refugee camp, told AFP that he and his brother watched the aid airdrop taking place in the hope of getting "a bag of flour".
"Then, suddenly, the parachute did not open and fell like a rocket onto the roof of the house. 10 minutes later, I saw people transporting 3 dead people and injured people on the roof, where the package was placed. Aid goods fell," said Mohammed al-Ghoul (50 years old).
The US and Jordan are among the countries that have carried out airdrops of aid in northern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people are facing increasingly worsening conditions after more than five months of the Hamas-Israel conflict .
A Jordanian military source confirmed to AFP that the kingdom was not involved in the deadly airdrop of aid on March 8.
"The technical error that caused some parachutes carrying aid to not deploy and fall freely to the ground during the airdrop into Gaza on March 8 was not caused by Jordanian aircraft. Four Jordanian aircraft carried out the airdrop with the help of Jordanian aircraft. cooperation of five other countries carried out its mission without any problems," the source emphasized.
Referring to the five people killed on March 8, the government media office in Gaza run by Hamas said the airdrop was "useless" and "not the best way to bring in aid".
Hamas reacted after Israel rejected its request
Hamas's armed wing announced on March 8 that there would be no compromise with this force's demand that Israel withdraw its troops from Gaza to ensure the release of hostages captured in the attack by Hamas gunmen on March 8. southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
"Our top priority in reaching a prisoner exchange agreement is to commit to stopping the enemy's aggression and retreat, and there is no compromise on this issue," spokesman Abu Obeida of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigade of Hamas, emphasized in a televised statement, according to AFP.
Mr. Abu Obeida also said that Hamas also wants "relief for our people, the return of the displaced and reconstruction", amid warnings of a looming famine in the region. Gaza.
Mr. Abu Obeida made the above statement when hopes for a new ceasefire agreement in the Hamas - Israel conflict seemed to have been extinguished. Mediators have been trying to reach a ceasefire agreement before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is expected to begin as early as tomorrow, March 10.
On March 6, the Hamas delegation expressed dissatisfaction with Israel's response to their demands and left the latest round of negotiations in the Egyptian capital Cairo to consult with the Hamas leader in Qatar. Hamas has asked Israel to withdraw its troops from Gaza, but Israel has refused.
US President Joe Biden warned this week that without a ceasefire agreement before Ramadan, "Israel and Jerusalem could be very, very dangerous".
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper