Germany greenlights humanitarian airlift to Gaza

BERLIN, March 13 (Xinhua) -- The German Armed Forces will participate in an airlift of humanitarian aid for Gaza, and the deployment of aid could begin as early as the end of the week, Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius said on Wednesday.

Initiated by Jordan, the operation will airdrop relief supplies to the population in Gaza. The United States and France are also participating in the airlift.

The Bundeswehr (German armed forces) is providing two C-130J Hercules transport aircraft, stationed in Evreux in France. Each plane can transport up to 18 tons of cargo.

The population in Gaza is "stalked by hunger, disease, and death," Martin Griffiths, head of the United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), warned last month. Around 2.2 million people live in the Gaza Strip.