Ottawa, Feb 29 : The Canadian government has decided to airdrop aid into Gaza within the next week, a CBS News correspondent said, citing Canadian officials.

“CBC News has learned that the government has decided to airdrop aid into Gaza. A Canadian government source says that the airdrop will happen within the next week,” said Kate McKenna on Wednesday.

The news comes as the Biden administration is mulling humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza by airdropping it from US military planes while Israelis continue blocking the free passage of aid to the enclave.

Earlier in the day, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said Israel, together with the United States, France, and several Arab countries, had carried out a joint humanitarian campaign in which they dropped parcels containing food and medical equipment from planes in 17 locations across the Gaza Strip.

In February 2016, the World Food Programme carried out its first airdrop, delivering 21 tonnes of food products to Syria. Over 18 months, it totaled 309 drops for 100,000 people, as stated on its website.

On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from Gaza and breached the border, killing 1,200 people and abducting around 240 others. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages.

On November 24, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire was extended several times and expired on December 1. More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza.

UNI