Five Killed In Gaza Aid Drop Parachute Failure – Reports

Five people have died after a parachute failed on an aid package dropped by air into Gaza, reports say.

An eyewitness and the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said the five were killed on Friday, March 8, 2024, when at least one parachute failed to deploy, the BBC’s US partner CBS News reported.

AFP news agency quoted a Gaza doctor as saying five people were killed. The BBC has not independently verified this.

It is unclear which air drop was involved in the incident.

The US, Jordan, Egypt, France, the Netherlands and Belgium have been dropping aid into Gaza in recent days as concerns about famine among the population grow.

Jordanian state TV quoted a source as denying that a Jordanian aircraft was involved in the incident. A US official told CBS an initial review suggested a US air drop was not involved.

The UN says a quarter of Gaza’s 2.3m population is on the brink of famine and children are starving to death.