King of Jordan says 'urgent medical aid' air-dropped into Gaza
The air drop was announced as Antony Blinken carried out a regional diplomatic tour
Amman: Jordan's air force air-dropped vital medical supplies to a field hospital in the besieged Gaza Strip, King Abdullah II said early Monday.
"Our fearless air force personnel air-dropped at midnight urgent medical aid to the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza," he said on X, formerly Twitter.
"This is our duty to aid our brothers and sisters injured in the war on Gaza," he said, adding: "We will always be there for our Palestinian brethren."
The air drop was announced as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken carried out a regional diplomatic tour, holding talks in Amman on Saturday with his counterparts from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Blinken visited the occupied West Bank, Iraq and Cyprus on Sunday as he continued his whirlwind trip, which has focused on aid for beleaguered civilians in Gaza and preventing attacks by Iran-backed groups on American troops in response to the war in Gaza.
Fighting raged in Gaza on Sunday for the 30th day since Hamas militants stormed across the Israeli border and, according to Israeli officials, killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and abducted over 240 others.
Since then, Israel has relentlessly bombarded the Gaza Strip and sent in ground troops, with the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory saying 9,770 people have been killed, around two-thirds of them women and children.
Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Sunday that the military had encircled Gaza City to the north of the strip, effectively splitting the Palestinian territory in two.
"Now there exists a south Gaza and a north Gaza", he said.
'Coordinated' air-drop
The Israeli army said Monday it had "coordinated" with Jordan to air-drop vital medical supplies to a field hospital in the besieged Gaza Strip, more than four weeks since the start of the war.
"Overnight, in coordination with the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), a Jordanian airplane dropped medical equipment and food to the Jordanian Hospital in the Gaza Strip. The equipment will be used by the medical staff for patients," the Israeli army said in a statement.