Three US military cargo planes have air-dropped food into the besieged Gaza Strip.

“We conducted a combined humanitarian assistance airdrop into Gaza” involving three US Air Force C-130s to provide “relief to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict”, a US Central Command official said on condition of anonymity.

The planes dropped “66 total bundles of pork-free meals” on Saturday afternoon local time, the official said.

Joe Bide, the US president, said on Friday that the United States would begin delivering relief supplies by air into Gaza, following the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians at an aid convoy on Thursday.

In that incident, dozens of desperate Palestinians were killed rushing a convoy in northern Gaza, which has been under siege since Hamas’s Oct 7 attack on Israel, and where the UN has warned of famine.

Mr Biden has urged Israel to reduce civilian casualties and allow aid in, while at the same time, he has maintained military assistance for the key US ally.

John Kirby, US National Security Council spokesman, said on Friday that the United States planned to carry out multiple airdrops that would last for weeks.

He described it as a “tough military operation” that required careful planning by the Pentagon for the safety of both Gazan civilians and US military personnel.