Three American transport planes air-dropped thousands of meals for the “innocent” residents of the Gaza Strip on Shabbos.

U.S. military C-130 cargo planes dropped 66 pallets with about 38,000 meals into Gaza at about 8:30 a.m.

“The combined operation included U.S. Air Force and RJAF C-130 aircraft and respective Army Soldiers specialized in aerial delivery of supplies, built bundles and ensured the safe drop of food aid,” U.S. Central Command said in a post on “X”, formerly known as Twitter.

A US official told Reuters the airdrops took place over southwestern Gaza and the town of Mawasi.

The U.S. Air Forces Central Command has just conducted its First Round of Humanitarian Airdrops into the Gaza Strip, with 3 C-130 Transport Aircraft flying at Low Altitude dropping upwards of 66 Pallets containing 38,000 Meals for the Palestinian Population. pic.twitter.com/PXBncWuQhj

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 2, 2024

Three Biden administration officials said the planes dropped the military Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) — shelf-stable meals that contain a day’s worth of calories in each sealed package — in locations that were thought would provide civilians with the greatest level of safety to access aid. Afterward, the U.S. monitored the sites and was able to see civilians approach and distribute food among themselves, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide additional details that had not been made public.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Friday that the airdrops were being planned to deliver emergency humanitarian assistance in a safe way to people on the ground. The United States believes the airdrops will help address the dire situation in Gaza, but they are no replacement for trucks, which can transport far more aid more effectively, though Thursday’s events also showed the risks with ground transport.

Kirby said the airdrops have an advantage over trucks because planes can move aid to a particular location very quickly. But in terms of volume, the airdrops will be “a supplement to, not a replacement for moving things in by ground.”

The C-130 is widely used to deliver aid to remote places because of its ability to land in austere environments.

A C-130 can airlift as much as 42,000 pounds of cargo and its crews know how to rig the cargo, which sometimes can include even vehicles, onto massive pallets that can be safely dropped out of the back of the aircraft.

Air Force loadmasters secure the bundles onto pallets with netting that is rigged for release in the back of a C-130, and then crews release it with a parachute when the aircraft reaches the intended delivery zone.

The Air Force’s C-130 has been used in years past to air drop humanitarian into Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti and other locations and the airframe is used in an annual multi-national “Operation Christmas Drop” that air drops pallets of toys, supplies, nonperishable food and fishing supplies to remote locations in the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau.

(YWN’s Jerusalem Desk is keeping you updated on Isru Chag in Israel.)

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem & AP)