00:00Food, desperately needed, airdropped over northern Gaza by the U.S. Air Force. Before
00:06takeoff, the crew loaded their U.S. military C-130 cargo plane with nearly two tons of
00:12aid, ready to eat chicken and rice meals, wheat, dates and powdered milk.
00:17Shortly after, we roared into the air. Our one-hour journey from Jordan took us west
00:22over Israel to northern Gaza. As the aft doors opened, we banked hard over the Mediterranean
00:28with the horizon almost on its side, descending to just 3,000 feet. Gaza's coastline first
00:33appeared, then the outlines of the destruction of Gaza City, once the strip's biggest, just
00:38before the drop.
00:40These meals are now being dropped into the active war zone that is the Gaza Strip. It
00:44is some relief, but it is hardly enough.
00:47Aid agencies estimate about 300,000 people are still living in the war-ravaged wasteland
00:53of northern Gaza, with hundreds of thousands more on the brink of famine.
00:57In addition to the U.S. today, military cargo jets from Jordan, Egypt, France, the Netherlands
01:02and Belgium flew airdrop missions. But one parachute that failed to deploy overshadowed
01:07all the good intent. Its connected package hurtled to the ground, injuring at least 11
01:12people and killing five, among them, nine-year-old Mohanad Mikdad.
01:17A tragedy that came as the U.S. plans to build a temporary pier on Gaza's coast. That could
01:23resemble this army-built causeway that would be driven into the shore and could offload
01:28two million meals each day. Completion is expected to take up to 60 days.
01:33With the holy fasting month of Ramadan now just a few nights away, a prayer for food
01:39may be on everyone's lips.
01:41And a U.S. defense official tells CBS News that an initial review of that parachute failure
01:46that killed those five Gazans indicated the American airdrop was not to blame and an investigation
01:53is still required.
01:54Ramey Inocencio, CBS News, Amman, Jordan.
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