Gaza, 8 March 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Five people were killed in the Gaza Strip during an airdrop of food aid when a parachute failed to open properly, the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry said on Friday.

They were crushed by the package, which fell to the ground at almost full speed. The ministry confirmed the deaths to a dpa employee on site.

Videos on social media showed how the large aid parcel crashed to the ground virtually unchecked. Several people were also injured.  

On Saturday, the United States and other nations began dropping aid shipments by parachute to help ease a catastrophic food shortage, particularly in the north of the embattled coastal strip.