WASHINGTON

The US State Department said Tuesday that is a "tragedy" that 12 Palestinians drowned in the sea in northern Gaza attempting to retrieve humanitarian airdrops.

“It is a tragedy," spokesman Matthew Miller said during a news conference. "It is not just a tragedy that these 12 individuals died trying to get aid. It is a tragedy that they felt so desperate that they had to swim out into the ocean to try and retrieve it in the first place.”

Miller said no one should have to put themselves at risk to try to get food, water and medicine for their families.

"It should just be there for them, and that is what we’re trying to accomplish through the work that we’re doing to provide humanitarian assistance and in our engagements with the government of Israel to encourage them to facilitate the delivery of additional humanitarian assistance,” he added.

At least 18 Palestinians were killed Tuesday in the Gaza Strip when an aid airdrop operation malfunctioned, according to Gaza’s Media Office.

The fatalities included 12 victims who drowned in the sea in the northern Gaza Strip and six in a stampede while trying to obtain the aid, the office said in a statement.

“The aid airdrops pose a real threat to the lives of hungry Palestinians,” it warned.