The United States is continuing to provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza through near-daily airdrops of food aid as part of a sustained effort to alleviate human suffering, with follow-on aerial deliveries planned.

To date, the United States has dropped 739 tons of humanitarian assistance, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said April 7.

In a joint operation conducted April 7, CENTCOM and the Royal Jordanian Air Force dropped over 38,000 meal equivalents provided by Jordan into northern Gaza, using three US Air Force C-130 aircraft.

In five air drops since April 1, US Air Force aircraft and US Army soldiers specialized in the aerial delivery of humanitarian assistance have delivered more than 202,000 meals to people in Gaza.

The deliveries include rice, flour, milk, pasta and canned food. Each meal contains about 1,200 calories, and many items are fortified with nutrients.

The humanitarian airdrops "contribute to ongoing US and partner-nation government efforts to alleviate human suffering," CENTCOM said. "

"These airdrops are part of a sustained effort, and we continue to plan follow-on aerial deliveries."

The success of these operations is partly due to civilian compliance with the delivery procedures put in place by US military personnel to ensure the safety of the intended recipients, the military said.

The US National Security Council has said it will continue trying to get aid in by road, AFP reported March 26.

But airdrops are "one of the many ways that we are helping to provide desperately needed aid to Palestinians in Gaza, and we will continue to do so."

The United States has sent military engineers to build a temporary offshore pier in Gaza to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid by sea.

Four US Army ships are due to arrive in the eastern Mediterranean "within days" to begin work on the pier, with an estimated two million meals to be offloaded from the pier daily, the Washington Post reported April 6.

Israel on April 5 said will allow "temporary" aid deliveries through Ashdod port and the Erez checkpoint along its border with northern Gaza.