Jordan airdrops aid to Gaza hospital for second time in a week

Kingdom, which has diplomatic ties with Israel, has been been fiercely critical of its bombardment of Gaza

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A Jordanian Air Force plane has parachuted aid into a field hospital in Gaza run by the kingdom’s military for the second time in a week, an army spokesman said on Sunday.

The airdrop to Jordanian Field Hospital Gaza 76 took place “in co-operation" with the UAE and Qatar, the spokesman said, with aid parachuted in to boost the 40-bed hospital’s capabilities and help "provide relief for the people of Gaza".

The move carries significant weight in Jordan, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994.

Authorities in Amman have been fiercely critical of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, calling on world powers to put pressure on the Israeli government into allowing humanitarian aid flows and stop the fighting, which has entered its fifth week.

On Saturday, King Abdullah vowed at a joint Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh that Jordan would continue "its duty" of sending aid to the Palestinians "through any means available".

"We cannot be silent over the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip," the king said. "Banning the delivery of food, medicine, water and electricity to Gazans is ... a war crime."

A large proportion of international aid has been stuck on the Egyptian side of the Gaza border, particularly at Rafah and the nearby city of Arish, because of Israeli restrictions.

An Arab aviation source said the Jordanian Hercules C-130 dropped the aid on Saturday after obtaining clearance from the Israeli military, similar to the kingdom's first airdrop on November 6.

"The United States is also in favour of more aid reaching Gaza," the source added. "It is a win-win situation for everyone."

Since the start of the Gaza war, Jordan has sent $28 million worth of medicine and food to the occupied West Bank and Gaza, government spokesman Muhannad Al Mubaidin said on Sunday.

The UAE and Qatar have been airlifting supplies to Egypt to be transported into Gaza as part of an international relief effort since the war began on October 7.

The Jordanian military has run the hospital since 2009, one of several run by other countries in Gaza.

“The hospital is continuing to work despite what it is suffering from as a result of the Israeli bombardment on the strip,” the army spokesman said.

Last week, President Sheikh Mohamed called for the UAE to co-ordinate with charitable groups to provide support under the Gallant Knight 3 operation, Wam reported.