Aid airdrops into Gaza will continue, White House says

The United States will continue dropping essential aid from the air into the Gaza Strip, the White House said Tuesday, after Palestinian militant group Hamas called for them to end following fatal drownings and stampedes.

“Air drops are one of the many ways that we are helping to provide desperately needed aid to Palestinians in Gaza, and we will continue to do so,” the National Security Council said in a statement.

The announcement came after Hamas said that 18 people had died, 12 of them by drowning while trying to recover dropped food supplies.

The council said the United States was working around the clock to increase the flow of aid into Gaza by land, adding that efforts were also underway to establish a maritime corridor to reach the territory.