Belgium sends military transporter to airdrop aid into Gaza

Belgium on Monday sent a military transport plane to join an international operation to drop aid in war-ravaged Gaza also involving the United States, France and Jordan, officials said.

The aid was taken to Jordan, where Jordanian officials were to inspect it before seeking an Israeli green light for an airdrop, which was to take place on Wednesday at the earliest, according to the Belgian defense ministry.

“We are not deciding when we go in. We are being told when we can go in and we will abide by that,” said Colonel Bruno Beeckmans, the commander of the air base outside Brussels from where the aircraft took off.

“It’s absolutely a no-go fly zone because it’s a war zone. So we need to be precisely coordinated,” he told AFP.

The military Airbus A400M transporter was to make another flight from Brussels to Jordan’s Zarqa air base outside Amman, to take in more aid and personnel for the drop.

Zarqa has been a hub for what Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder said was a “humanitarian coalition for Palestine.”



AFP