Jordan parachutes aid to its hospital in southern Gaza

Medical centre was set up in Khan Younis last month by the kingdom's military

A picture released by the Jordanian military on December 1, 2023 shows the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza. Reuters

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A Jordanian air force plane on Thursday dropped medical supplies to a hospital in Gaza that was set up by the kingdom's military last month to help Palestinians under Israeli bombardment.

It was the fourth time that supplies were parachuted to the Jordanian Special Field Hospital 2 in Khan Younis, state television reported.

“The plane's crew managed to drop the boxes containing medical and treatment supplies to sustain the work of the hospital,” the report said.

The field hospital was the first such medical facility to be sent into the enclave amid the Israel-Gaza war that began on October 7. More than 16,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict so far, most of them civilians.

Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah flew to the Egyptian coastal city of Al Arish to oversee the transfer of the 41-bed hospital. On board the same aircraft was a 145-strong team of doctors and nurses, as well as administrative staff.

The hospital was ferried into Gaza on 40 lorries that entered through the Rafah border crossing in the north-eastern corner of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, about 50km east of Al Arish, on November 20.

The Jordanian military has operated a 40-bed hospital in northern Gaza since 2009.

Jordan's King Abdullah said this week Israel should be internationally condemned for attempting to create coercive conditions that could displace the Palestinians in Gaza.

“The king renewed his rejection of forcible displacement of Palestinians inside the Gaza Strip or outside it,” the official Jordanian news agency reported.

He repeated his calls for an immediate ceasefire and warned that Israel's bombing of Gaza was leading to a “dangerous deterioration” in the situation.