King Abdullah will urge the United States to pressure Israel to lift barriers to more aid. (document)

Amman:

Jordan’s King Abdullah has participated in airdrops of humanitarian aid to Gaza, officials said on Sunday, a move that underscores the king’s role in pushing Israel to end restrictions to help the war-torn enclave ward off disease, hunger and starvation. role.

A video posted by state-owned Al Mamlaka showed Jordan’s king, dressed in military uniform, boarding a plane for the Jordanian Air Force’s latest mission to airdrop emergency medical supplies to a field hospital in the enclave. The latest airdrop was on Tuesday, state media reported.

It has carried out 11 airdrops, at least two of which were with the French and Dutch air forces to provide medical assistance.

Abdullah’s second daughter, air force pilot Princess Salma, participated in an airdrop last December.

The king, who has been outspoken in calling for an end to Israel’s campaign, began a tour of major Western capitals on Thursday and will meet U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington on Monday to lobby for an immediate ceasefire.

Officials said Abdullah would urge Washington to pressure Israel to lift barriers to more aid to the Palestinians, saying they were exacerbating the plight of the enclave’s more than 2 million residents, who face growing violence. Risk of famine.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised Jordan’s “role and leadership in providing life-saving assistance to Palestinian civilians in Gaza” during a visit to Amman last month.

Jordan’s success in getting Israel to allow the World Food Program (WFP) to deliver supplies to Gaza via an alternative land route from Jordan will help ease pressure on limited capacity at the main Rafah crossing.

Jordan, which borders the West Bank, fears the conflict in Gaza could spread, with the army encouraging armed settlers to commit wider violence, triggering a mass exodus of Palestinians across the Jordan River.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)