Canada conducts first humanitarian airdrop in Gaza
CBC News had exclusive access to the Canadian effort, which delivered food supplies like lentils, oil, milk powder and pasta using a CC-130J Hercules aircraft that departed from a Jordanian airbase.
The drop was part of an attempt by six countries to alleviate the hunger crisis in the Palestinian territory.
'Canada is taking these exceptional measures with our international partners as access to humanitarian aid in Gaza is severely restricted and humanitarian needs have reached an unprecedented level,' Global Affairs Canada said in a statement published Monday afternoon.
'Despite the scale of need, humanitarian partners face severe challenges in delivering life-saving food and medical assistance by land due to ongoing restrictions imposed by the Israeli government.'
https://x.com/CJOC_COIC/status/1952429909529231725
In an interview with CBC News, Major Cam MacKay with the 436 Transport Squadron said the team 'is very motivated to do this mission.'
'There are people that are very much in need of that aid on the ground, and for us to be able to assist Global Affairs Canada and being able to deliver that aid, it feels very good,' he said.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on social media that '120 aid packages containing food for the residents of the Gaza Strip were airdropped by six different countries, including Canada, which joined the airdrop operations for the first time today.'
https://x.com/IDF/status/1952378031638458514
The other five countries were Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Germany and Belgium, the IDF said. France and Spain have also participated in other airdrops over the last four days.
It was a chaotic scene as Palestinians rushed to an aid drop site in the Nuseirat area in central Gaza.
Upon arrival at the site, men and women pushed each other, and some children could be seen climbing over the desperate crowds to get closer to the humanitarian aid.
Israel has slightly loosened its tight restrictions on food and medicine reaching the Gaza Strip in response to an international outcry over starvation in the Palestinian territory, as per CBC News.
Aid experts have said that airdrops are vastly less effective than truck convoys. Some of the pallets dropped by air earlier this week have fallen into the sea, and at least one has struck and killed Palestinians on the ground, as per CBC News.
Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza and says it is taking steps for more aid to reach its population, including airdrops, pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. (ANI)
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Create Account For many, those words are an oxymoron — you know, two words that have the opposite meaning of the other. For many supporters of Israel and Western democracy, these days, 'media truth' is just that. An oxymoron. So: the New York Times , the ostensible newspaper of record, placing a photo of a child on its front page, and then falsely suggesting it was dying as a result of an Israeli campaign of starvation against Palestinians. Or most other media simply ignoring authentic footage of a skeletal Israeli man being forced by Hamas to dig his own grave — whose 'state,' by the by, Canada just announced it would formally recognize. The media has lost tremendous credibility over cases like these. Media have also lost a lot of legitimacy for playing fast and loose with the truth in the Israel-Hamas war. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The CBC, which all Canadian pay for with their taxes, has been among the notable offenders. Instead of presenting verifiable facts in a fair and balanced way, it has seemingly chosen sides, and presented a wildly-distorted view of the Hamas-Israel conflict. This reporter has documented multiple examples of that at CBC. Many relate to Mohamed El Saife. El Saife is paid by CBC to work as a 'videographer.' A fawning essay about him was posted on the main CBC website at the anniversary of the slaughter of hundreds of Jews by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. A similarly-sycophantic profile of him was broadcast on CBC's main news programs, on both CBC News Network and on its main network. There, he was described as CBC's 'eyes and ears' in Gaza. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. His 'eyes and ears' apparently see and hear things differently than many of us. El Saife says 'Israel' — he puts the Jewish state's name in quotation marks, to suggest that it is a fiction — is an 'occupation army that violates the dignity of of the bodies of martyrs.' He has accused Israel of 'massacring' citizens in the Gazan city of Khan Yunis, without any proof. He has published an A.I.-generated image of a Palestinian child wearing wings, and chased by demonic-looking weapons-toting IDF troops. And, now, we learn about a new example of CBC's 'eyes and ears in Gaza' conducting himself in manner that many journalists never would: the raw footage he sends that is ultimately seen by hundreds of the network's journalists. These are actual quotes from the footage — the 'shot lists' — he sells to CBC: This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'The Jews destroyed everything beautiful…' 'Even the donkey that God gave us so we could make money, the Jews killed him…' 'The Jews didn't leave us trees or leaves.' 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