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Jordanian king personally releases aid over Gaza

The kingdom runs two field hospitals in the Strip and this is the 11th airdrop of supplies to restock their medical supplies.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

King Abdullah of Jordan joined the aircrew of one of his kingdom’s planes Tuesday to personally release aid over the Gaza Strip, state media reported Sunday.

Video footage aired on Jordanian TV showed the monarch wearing battle fatigues and protective equipment on a transport plane as pallets of medical supplies were released to parachute down to field hospitals that the kingdom’s military has been running in Gaza since late November.

All the crates have a GPS device attached to them so that they can be guided to their destination.

The report said that this drop, along with another one the day before, was made together with the Dutch air force.

Amman has set up two hospitals in the coastal enclave, one in Khan Younis in the southern part, and one in Gaza City in the north. When the Khan Younis facility was first established, 40 truckloads of equipment and 180 doctors and nurses came through Egypt’s Rafah crossing.

Both have been at least partly resupplied by air, all done with prior coordination with the IDF.

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Reuters reported that this is the 11th time the kingdom has carried out a medical air drop, with at least one of them being conducted jointly with French forces. Its report added that Abdullah’s second daughter, Princess Salma, who is an air force pilot, took part in such a mission herself in December.

Last month, the Jordanians claimed that Israel had shelled its Khan Younis facility during battles against Hamas in the city, causing extensive damage. The IDF swiftly proved through aerial pictures that all was intact.

While its troops had been fighting in the area, the IDF said, they had all been told that the hospital is “a sensitive place and it is very important for the IDF not to endanger it and its people.”

Rather than take advantage of the element of surprise against Hamas forces, the army had told the medical staff to seek shelter before any action began in their vicinity.

Israel has repeatedly encouraged other countries and organizations to send humanitarian aid and set up field hospitals to help Gazan civilians. So far, besides the Jordanians, the UAE, the Los Angeles-based International Medical Corps, and Doctors Without Borders have each established one medical facility in the enclave, while France and Italy have each sent a floating hospital.

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The IDF has allowed well over 1,000 tons of medical equipment into Gaza since war was sparked on October 7, 2023, after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, massacring 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostage.

King Hussein is currently making a round of Western capitals to urge an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. He is due to meet U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday.