Jordan launches air bridge to send medicine to Gaza

Jordan’s air force launched on January 28th the biggest air bridge so far to deliver urgent medical supplies to Gaza under a US-sponsored deal, the Middle East Online via Reuters reported.
Initially, Jordanian helicopters will deliver at least 160 tonnes of medical supplies for a week, to hospitals and medical centres, according to army officials.
Israel had allowed Jordan to deliver aid to a specified location near Israel’s Kissufim border crossing with the war-torn Gaza Strip. This deal was under an agreement sponsored by the US.
A helicopter pad situated in the middle of the strip would help expedite the deliveries. UN agencies led by the World Food Programme would then send them directly to medical centres and hospitals.
Jordan’s Minister of State for Communications, Mohamed Momani, told reporters: “More aid is needed for the Palestinian people in Gaza. There is a terrifying state of destruction. There is a terrifying state of suffering that the Palestinian people are living.”
Jordan has sent seven land convoys with at least 540 trucks through a corridor across the Israeli-occupied West Bank to Gaza, according to officials.
“In this air corridor we deliver that urgent aid that could be damaged by their transport on trucks,” Brigadier General Mustafa al-Hayari said.
King Abdullah has been trying to persuade Washington to push Israel to widen the aid corridor from Jordan to enable larger quantities of aid to quickly cross into Gaza.
Middle East Online via Reuters