As international pressure to deliver more food aid to Gaza builds, the Kingdom of Jordan is “continuing to request assistance in the form of pledges to contribute aircraft, supplies, humanitarian aid, and logistical support” for its airdrop operation — but the Trump administration has no active plans to join European allies in helping with the mission at present, according to an internal State Department communication reviewed by ABC News on Monday and two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
Per the communication, Jordan has informed the State Department of its intention to launch a three-week airdrop operation beginning in early August — in addition to the drops conducted with the United Arab Emirates that took place Sunday — and the department is tracking various pledges to assist with the operation from Spain, Belgium, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
“Emphasizing the irreplicable role of land routes and minimizing the risk of casualties due to airdrops are continued concerns among potential contributors,” the department communication noted.
Displaced Palestinians at the Nuseirat refugee camp haul food parcels and other items they managed to get from a GHF aid distribution point at the so-called “Netzarim corridor” in the central Gaza Strip, on July 26, 2025.
Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images
Some aid organizations have also publicly expressed concerns about the efficacy and safety of airdrops.
“Airdrops are the most expensive & inefficient way to deliver aid. It is a distraction to the inaction,” Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency Philippe Lazzarini wrote in a post on X on Friday.
Earlier Monday, President Donald Trump promised the U.S. would be “even more involved” when it comes to delivering aid to Gaza, saying this administration would work with European allies to set up “food centers” with fewer restrictions on access.
He also suggested that additional assistance could come in the form of the U.S. helping with air drops if his administration chose to do so.
“We did some airlifts before, some airdrops,” he said following a meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “It’s not very hard to do, actually.”
Jordan has also informed the State Department that it encountered significant delays when moving aid into Gaza by ground on Sunday, stating that the Israeli government allowed only 25 out of 60 trucks traveling from Jordan to enter the enclave. According to the internal communication, the Jordanian Armed Forces reported that the screening of the aid convoy “went substantially slower” than it has for three previous convoys organized by the country.
The 25 trucks that were permitted entry on Sunday were carrying World Food Programme contents, while the delayed trucks were carrying food supplies from other organizations, including World Central Kitchen and the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization, it added.
Jordan has informed the department of its intention to move two more convoys into Gaza this week, according to the communication.
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Trump Turnberry golf club, July 28, 2025 in Turnberry, Scotland.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
“President Trump wants to alleviate suffering for the people of Gaza because he has a humanitarian heart. He announced a new aid plan today to help Gazans obtain crucial access to food – details are forthcoming,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said in a comment to ABC News.
Trump said earlier that European countries would also help with his plan to set up food centers but shared few other details about his vision.
“We have all of the European nations joining us, and others also have called. So, we’re going to set up food centers and where the people can walk in and no boundaries. We’re not going to have fences,” he said.
Regarding ABC News reporting on Jordan’s request for assistance with its air drop operation and the reported delay moving ground aid into Gaza caused by Israel, a State Department spokesperson responded, “President Trump has called for creative solutions ‘to help the Palestinians’ in Gaza, and we welcome any effective effort that delivers food to Gazans and keeps it out of the hands of Hamas.”
“At this time, GHF remains the best mechanism for getting aid into the hands of people in desperate need in Gaza while also keeping aid out of the hands of Hamas,” the spokesperson said, referring to the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
“A track record of distributing over 94 million meals to date while preventing any Hamas looting is absolutely incredible and should be commended and supported. We call on other aid agencies and the UN to participate in this secure aid delivery system and take GHF up on its offer to use its system to deliver food to Gazans in need,” the spokesperson said.
The Trump administration has pledged at least $30 million to the GHF and thrown its full support behind the controversial charity despite concerns from critics regarding its aid distribution practices.
Earlier this month, more than 160 charity groups and NGOs called for the GHF to be shut down, claiming that more than 500 Palestinians had been killed while seeking aid from the organization and that its distribution locations “have become sites of repeated massacres in blatant disregard for international humanitarian law.”
The United Nations has also rejected requests to cooperate with GHF.
“We welcome working with any other partners. All we ask is that those partners work based on the most basic humanitarian principles, one of them being that don’t set up an operation that will increase the risk of people to be shot at or trampled while trying to get food,” U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a press conference last week.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation pushed back on the criticism in a statement to ABC News.
“While Oxfam, MSF and these other groups hold press conferences and send out threatening letters, GHF is on the ground feeding people,” a GHF spokesperson said.
“We’ve offered to help them deliver it safely. They’ve refused. The humanitarian community must return to its core mission — feeding people — not protecting outdated systems or avoiding the discomfort of change.
In a letter sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday, a group of 21 Democratic senators called for the Trump administration to immediately cease funding for the GHF and resume support for the existing U.N-led aid coordination mechanisms.
“There should be no American taxpayer dollars contributing to this scheme,” the lawmakers wrote.
