Press Release
☷Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh Holds an Off Camera On the Record Press Briefing
U.S. Department of Defense ( By Press Release office)
Mar 15,2024
| 5| 0
DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SABRINA SINGH: Alright , so just a quick update before we get into the Q&A . On Saturday , March 2nd , the US Central Command and the Royal Jordanian Air Force did a combined humanitarian airdrop in Gaza to help those affected by the ongoing conflict . They dropped over 38 , 000 meals along the coast , providing critical aid to civilians . This is part of our ongoing efforts to get more aid into Gaza , including exploring other ways like land corridors . We ' re also planning for more aid missions , and we ' ll keep you updated . Now , let ' s move on to your questions . Tara , go ahead . Yeah , so the White House mentioned that there will be an additional effort to deliver aid on the ground . But is there like a specific goal , like maybe 10 percent of the aid delivered by air and 90 percent by ground? Or is there some kind of split that has been mentioned? Sorry , what was the first part? Like , what was mentioned about the land effort? Oh , it ' s a supplemental effort to the land effort . Yeah , we know that the easiest way to get aid into Gaza would be through the land corridors , but currently , the number of trucks being able to enter Gaza has varied between zero to 200 per day . In the last week , it has been closer to 30 to 120 trucks per day , but clearly that ' s not enough to feed the population there . So yes , the airdrops are supplemental , but I don ' t have a breakdown of how much that will constitute . All I can tell you is that we ' re doing everything we can to feed people on the ground , and what you saw was our initial effort . Thank you . There is a video that allegedly shows the MREs being dropped , and people noticed that they were not humanitarian daily rations; they were regular MREs . Can you confirm that these were not specifically designed for malnourished people? And if they were , what is the reasoning behind giving regular MREs? These were MREs that were dropped from our available stocks . They are high in calories and nutritional value . But I don ' t have any more information on that . Well , just one question: Is it appropriate to give regular MREs to someone who is malnourished? Because if you give them too many calories , it can be dangerous . These were the meals we were able to provide at the time . We needed to get meals there as quickly as possible . We are considering all options and doing everything we can to get food into the region by any means necessary , and this was just one opportunity where we were able to drop these MREs . There were some videos on social media showing some of the pallets going into the water . Yeah . Were all of them accessible , or did some drift away and become inaccessible? No , we believe that all the pallets we dropped were successfully obtained by the Palestinians in Gaza . Got it . In Gaza . MS . SINGH: Nope , no issues . Q: Thank you . Q: And when it comes to deconfliction , how does that work? Do you just tell the Israelis , like , "Hey , don ' t shoot at us"? Because they have aircraft - - obviously , you don ' t really trust them , right? ( inaudible ) . Q: The daily rations for humanitarian purposes are often designed to align with cultural sensitivities . What about the MREs? Did someone make sure the right kind of food was dropped? MS . SINGH: Yeah , for sure . We made sure to drop culturally - sensitive MREs . Q: So over the weekend , there ' s been a lot of talk about leaked audio conversations involving the Germans . Is that causing any concern in the Pentagon? And are you revealing any of your communications with German military officials or others in case they weren ' t properly secured? And how worried are you about the leaked info? Q: Okay , and there weren ' t any issues with that? MS . SINGH: No problem . ( inaudible ) . Yes . Q: This will be quick . Yes , ( inaudible ) , go ahead , then ( Hailey ) . MS . SINGH: I can ' t confirm it . I don ' t have any more info on that right now . It ' s something the services will decide . MS . SINGH: Yeah , we did coordinate with the Israelis to let them know where we would be doing the drop . Q: Yeah , thanks . On the Osprey , there was a report last week that the Pentagon is gonna lift restrictions on it this week . Can you confirm that report? Q: So is the Pentagon gonna work with the Japanese government on safety measures or the investigation before resuming the Osprey? Because the Japanese are really concerned about that . MS . SINGH: I don ' t have any info on those alleged calls you ' re talking about . We always prioritize security in classified calls , especially when discussing Ukraine or any other region . But I can ' t give you any details on that . It hasn ' t affected relations with the German government . We appreciate Germany ' s contributions to Ukraine . MS . SINGH: Yeah , appreciate the question , but I can ' t give you any details before the services and the investigation are ready to announce something . Q: Thanks . Just following up on Ryo ' s question . Can you at least say that the US will notify Japan before these ( inaudible ) ? MS . SINGH: We ' ll definitely be in close coordination with the Japanese government , but I can ' t say anything about notifications right now . Yeah . They ' re obviously part of the UDCG , and we really appreciate all the work they ' re doing to help support Ukraine . Courtney And then - sorry . Q: Oh , can I ask you something real quick MS . SINGH: Oh , sure . ( CROSSTALK ) Q: So the SKY - I think we saw reports that the Houthis may have hit a ship affiliated with an Israeli company . Can you confirm that MS . SINGH: Yeah . Q: And on the airdrop situation , we ' re having to use our own supplies for aid drops since the Israelis are not allowing enough trucks to come through . Is this affecting the Secretary ' s discussions with them MS . SINGH: Yeah , it ' s a concern that we ' re not able to get aid to those in need as quickly as we ' d like . The Secretary is addressing this issue in his conversations with his counterpart , and it ' s a priority for the administration to open up humanitarian corridors for aid to flow smoothly . The recent airdrop was just a small step in addressing the worsening situation , and we hope to do more in the future . Q: Will further security assistance depend on their cooperation with aid delivery efforts MS . SINGH: We ' ll have to see . SINGH: Right now , we just need to make sure those humanitarian passageways stay open . Israel and the IDF are facing a tough fight from Hamas , but there are discussions happening at all levels of government . Courtney Q: Is Secretary Austin okay? Any updates on his health? MS . SINGH: As far as I know , he ' s doing well and at work . He ' s busy with meetings and calls today . Q: Who from the Pentagon is meeting with Benny Gantz during his visit? MS . SINGH: I ' m not sure , but the Secretary is not . You ' d have to ask Benny Gantz who he ' s meeting with . Q: Has the Pentagon leadership been briefed on Israeli plans for Rafah? Have they shared any information with the US? MS . SINGH: We ' ve asked for their plan , especially regarding the humanitarian concerns in Rafah . But as far as I know , they haven ' t shared it yet . We ' re in regular communication with them . Hey , we ' re not asking for their entire plan , just for them to think about some important stuff , like the over one million people in the area . What ' s their plan for moving them and ensuring their security and basic needs? As for the investigation into the recent incident at the food distribution , the Israelis did a preliminary assessment and are still looking into it . We ' re not conducting our own investigation , but we appreciate that they are . As for why the Secretary isn ' t meeting with Gantz , it ' s simply not on his schedule . We have a good relationship with the Israeli government and communicate regularly at various levels . Gantz is meeting with other officials , but we continue to have discussions with the Israeli government . Q: Can we find out if he ' s meeting with anyone else besides the Secretary? I mean , he ' s a member of the War Cabinet and he ' s here on official business . So it makes sense that there would be someone from the Pentagon involved in these talks , right? MS . SINGH: I don ' t know of any officials participating in those meetings . These are high - level White House meetings . But if there is someone , I can get back to you on that . Q: Thanks . Oh , Konstantin , you had a question? Q: Sabrina , last week , German media reported an incident where one of their frigates tried to shoot down one of our MQ - 9 drones , but their missiles missed . Do you have any more information on that? MS . SINGH: I don ' t have more details on that incident . We are aware of it though . We have many ships operating in that region , and Operation Prosperity Guardian is coordinating with other countries ' ships . It ' s a big operation , not just under OPG , but the EU also launched their own maritime operation . So there ' s a lot of coordination involved . But we are aware of the incident . Q: The Germans reportedly asked if the contact they were supposed to shoot down was our drone , and they were told no and given permission . Do you have any insight on that? MS . SINGH: I ' m not aware of anything like that . Q: Okay . MS . SINGH: Yeah . Q: Thanks . Did any of the air - dropped aid reach Hamas , or was it all distributed among the civilian population? MS . SINGH: We can ' t determine that since we ' re not on the ground . But based on what we were able to monitor , it appeared to be self - distributed . However , we can ' t guarantee that Hamas members didn ' t receive some of the aid . But from what we saw , it seemed like citizens and civilians were able to access and distribute the aid themselves . Q: Also , do you know if the Jordanians communicated with Hamas to inform them not to fire at the aircraft dropping aid? MS . SINGH: I don ' t know . You should reach out to the Jordanian government for that information . Q: Okay , but the U . S . didn ' t ask them to communicate about it? MS . SINGH: I have no information to share on that . Do you have one final question? Q: Just a quick one about the Red Sea . With the sinking of the Rubymar cargo ship , can we expect more counter - drone assets to be deployed there soon? MS . SINGH: I can ' t speculate on any changes in our operations . Just to give you a heads up , we have the Ike carrier strike group and some destroyers in the region helping out with navigation . I don ' t have any official announcements to make on that front , but just so you know , the Rubymar sank over the weekend carrying a lot of fertilizer , which is now causing an environmental issue in the Houthis ' area . It ' s kind of backfiring on them , don ' t you think? As for Gantz and Secretary Austin ' s meeting , I can ' t really comment on that right now . And no , there are no plans to have U . S . troops on the ground in Gaza for airdrops . Thanks for joining .
PLAY the NEWS
* May be useful for visually impaired persons .
Press release information:
Direct link to press release:
Click here .