CNN –
The United States and Jordan have airdropped humanitarian aid into Gaza, U.S. Central Command said on Saturday, a day after President Joe Biden assured the U.S. would “pull out all stops” to bring more aid to the besieged area to bring coastal enclave.
In the joint operation between the US Air Force and the Royal Jordanian Air Force, US C-130 aircraft dropped 38,000 meals along the coast of Gaza, CENTCOM said in a statement.
A total of 66 bundles were dropped – 22 from each of the three planes, a U.S. official said. There was no water or medical supplies in the packages.
“These airdrops are part of a sustained effort to bring more aid to Gaza, including by expanding the flow of aid through land corridors and routes,” CENTCOM said.
White House officials called the operation “successful” on Saturday.
“The fact that today's airdrop was successful is an important test case to show that we can do this successfully again in the coming days and weeks,” a senior administration official said during a call with reporters Saturday.
The senior official added that the Defense Ministry planned to conduct additional airdrops into Gaza in the coming days, but declined to provide further details.
On Friday, Biden lamented the slow pace of aid to Gaza as he announced upcoming airdrops. Speaking alongside Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Oval Office, Biden also said the U.S. would work on a ceasefire that would allow for additional aid.
Biden said he would “insist” that Israel allow more trucks and routes for aid deliveries to Gaza.
“We will insist that Israel provide more trucks and more routes to get more and more people the help they need, without excuses,” Biden said. “Innocent lives are at stake, and children’s lives are at stake.”
Other countries, including the United Arab Emirates and France, have dropped aid into the Gaza Strip. But Saturday's operation was a first for the United States.
Ahead of the operation's announcement on Saturday, several aid groups criticized U.S. plans to cut off food aid as ineffective, as the United Nations warned that hundreds of thousands of people in the Gaza Strip were on the brink of famine.
Richard Gowan, UN Director of the International Crisis Group, said on social media: “Humanitarians always complain that airdrops are good photo opportunities but a bad way to deliver aid.”
This article and headline have been updated with additional information.
CNN's Camila DeChalus, Sophie Tanno and Samantha Waldenberg contributed to this report.