WASHINGTON – The US military halted its airdrops of humanitarian aid over Gaza earlier this month, in part over concerns for the safety of civilians amid Israel's ongoing military operation in Rafah, the Pentagon acknowledged on Thursday.
"We cannot do some airdrops when the IDF is conducting operations. We don't want civilians running into an active battle space," Pentagon deputy spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters during a press briefing. "We do hope to continue those," she added.
Why it matters: The Pentagon's acknowledgement comes just two days after a humanitarian aid pier built by the US Army on Gaza's coast broke apart amid high sea swells, indefinitely postponing the American military's mission to ferry desperately needed food, water and medical supplies into Gaza.
The pier and airdrops were part of a broader plan by the Biden administration to surge humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip in a last-minute bid to ward off famine caused by Israel's military campaign against Hamas.
