U.S. carries out first airdrop of aid into Gaza

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The U.S. military on Saturday carried out its first airdrop of aid into Gaza, three U.S. officials said, after the deaths of Palestinians queuing for food underlined the growing humanitarian catastrophe in the crowded coastal enclave after months of Israeli military operations.

Other countries including Jordan and France have already conducted airdrops of aid into Gaza, where the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says a quarter of the population -- 576,000 people -- are one step from famine.

The U.S. airdrop used three C-130 transport planes, said two of the U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. It was not immediately clear where the aid was dropped. One of the officials said it included more than 38,000 meals on 66 pallets.

The White House said on Friday the airdrops will be a sustained effort, and that Israel supported the measure.

Under pressure at home and abroad, the Biden administration is also considering shipping aid by sea from Cyprus, some 210 nautical miles off Gaza's Mediterranean coast, according to a U.S. official.

The U.S. for months has been calling for Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, something Israel has resisted.

Some experts said being forced to resort to costly, inefficient airdrops was the latest demonstration of Washington's limited influence over Israel as it pursues its war with Hamas. Washington is arming Israel and considers it one of its closest allies in the region.

Critics of airdrops say they have only a limited impact on the suffering, and that it is impossible to ensure supplies do not end up in the hands of militants.

Before the conflict, Gaza relied on 500 trucks with supplies entering daily.

The U.N. Palestinian refugee agency