Norway considering contributing to airdrops of emergency aid in Gaza

By Leila Nezirevic

LONDON (AA) - Norwegian authorities confirmed Saturday they are considering contributing to airdrops of emergency aid in the Gaza Strip.

“But I want to emphasize that this is not the optimal solution. The solution is for Israel to open the borders and ensure safe and permanent access to Gaza,” Development Minister Anne Beathe Tvinnereim told local broadcaster, NRK.

The Norwegian Armed Forces have been tasked with investigating “various alternatives with which we can possibly assist,” however, “it is too early to say anything about what type of aid,” armed forces spokesperson Stine Barclay Gaasland, told the broadcaster.

Five people were killed Friday while waiting for food, and several injured, when a parachute landing a humanitarian airdrop failed to open, north of Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp.

The Media Office in Gaza called the airdrops “flashy propaganda rather than a humanitarian service” while demanding food be allowed through land crossings.

The United Nations warned the Security Council last week of “imminent famine in the Gaza Strip,” urging immediate action to prevent a humanitarian disaster in a territory where many Council members warned that Israel is using “hunger as a weapon of war.”