DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SABRINA SINGH: All right. Just a few -- just one small item at the top, and then happy to jump in and take questions.
So as you know, on Saturday, March 2nd, U.S. Central Command and the Royal Jordanian Air Force conducted a combined humanitarian assistance airdrop into Gaza to provide essential relief to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict. The combined operation included U.S. Air Force and the Royal Jordanian Air Force C-130 aircraft and respective Army soldiers specialized in aerial delivery of supplies, (built ?) bundles and ensured the safe drop of food aid. US C-130s dropped over 38,000 meals along the coastline of Gaza, allowing for civilian access to the critical aid.
The DOD humanitarian airdrops contribute to an ongoing U.S. government efforts to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to the people in Gaza. These airdrops are part of a sustained effort to get more aid into Gaza, including by expanding the flow of aid through land corridors and routes.
We are conducting planning for potential follow-on airborne aid delivery missions, and we'll be sure to keep you updated when we have any new information to provide.
And with that, I'd be happy to jump in and take questions. Oh, hello, Tara. I can start with you.
Q: Thanks. On the senior administration official call following the airdrops, one of the officials said the idea is to flood the zone.
MS. SINGH: Yeah.
Q: But the first op was 38,000 meals. Given the need just in Rafah alone, how -- like, what are the frequency that we're expecting to see to -- if you're actually going to flood the zone? And does that rely on getting a maritime corridor open?
MS. SINGH: So in terms of the maritime corridor, I don't have anything for you on that just yet. We are looking at all opportunities, but -- or -- or all ways to get aid in, but just don't have anything more specific on a maritime corridor.
In terms of flooding the zone, I mean, that's sort of what I mentioned in the topper, is this was the first of one delivery of aid. By no means do we think 38,000 meals is enough to feed the people in Gaza, but it's the first. We're continuing to work to provide more aid. I just don't have more (drops ?) to preview at this time.
Q: What sort of cadence are you thinking?
MS. SINGH: I don't have a cadence just for you yet. A lot of it is also going to depend on, you know, how we can drop the aid. Weather is going to be a factor, as well. So I just don't have more for you at this time. I don't -- like, I don't have anything to preview if it -- this is going to be, you know, weekly, daily. I can just tell you that it's something that we are going to look into in terms of continuing to support -- provide aid to the Palestinians. Great.
OK, yeah?
Q: So it's -- it's been mentioned from -- from the White House that that there's going to be a supplemental effort to -- to (inaudible) on the ground. But is there any kind of, like, percentage goal? Like, you know, the -- the -- to get 10 percent of -- of the aid delivered by air and 90 by ground? Or is it some kind of split that's been cited by that -- like that, or...?
MS. SINGH: Sorry. What was the first part? Like, what was mentioned on -- in terms of what -- (land ?)...?
Q: Yeah, that it's -- it's a supplemental effort to the land effort.
MS. SINGH: Oh, a supplemental. Yeah. So we know that getting aid into Gaza, the easiest way would be through the land corridors, but currently -- and I need to go up. Since the start of the war, the number of trucks being able to enter Gaza has varied between zero to 200 per day. In the last week, what I have here is that the number has been closer to 30 to 120 trucks per day. But again, that's clearly not enough to get everyone -- to feed the population there.
So yes, the -- the airdrops are supplemental, but I don't have a breakdown of, you know, how much that's going to constitute. All I can tell you is that we're doing everything we can to feed folks there on the ground, and this -- what you saw was our initial effort.
Jeff?
Q: Thank you. There is video that purportedly shows the MREs being dropped, and people have noticed that they weren't humanitarian daily rations; they were regular MREs. Q: Can you confirm that these were not (inaudible) daily rations, which are specifically designed for people who are malnourished? And if they were, what is the thinking of just -- of -- of giving regular MREs?
MS. SINGH: These were MREs that were dropped -- pulled from our stocks that were available. They are high-caloric in -- in -- in calories and nutritional value. But I don't have more for you on -- on anything that (inaudible).
Q: Well, just one: Is that something you want to give to someone who is really under-nourished? Because if you give them too much calories, that can be dangerous.
MS. SINGH: This was something that we were able to pull from our stocks at the time. We needed to get meals there as quickly as we can. I think we're looking at all options, Jeff. As you can appreciate, this is the first initial airdrop. We're doing everything possible that we can get food into the region by all means necessary, and so this was just one opportunity where we were able to drop these MREs in.
Q: There were some videos on social media of some of the pallets going into the water.
MS. SINGH: Yeah.
Q: Were all of them accessible, or did some drift away and -- and they were not accessible?
MS. SINGH: No, we believe that our airdrop, the pallets that we were able to drop were all able -- what the -- able to successfully be obtained by the Palestinians...
Q: Got it.
MS. SINGH: ... in Gaza.
Q: And then in terms of deconfliction, how does that work? Do you tell the Israelis, "Hey, don't shoot at us"? Because they have aircraft -- obviously, you don't trust -- I assume you don't just trust them, right? (inaudible)...
MS. SINGH: We did -- we did coordinate with the Israelites to tell them where we would be doing the drop.
Q: OK, and there was (sic) no issues with that?
MS. SINGH: There was (sic) no issues.
Ryo?
Q: Yeah, thank you. Os- -- on Osprey, there was a report last week that the Pentagon is going to lift restrictions on Osprey (craft ?) this week. Can you confirm the report?
MS. SINGH: I can't confirm the report. I don't have more for you on that right now. That is a determination that the services are going to make.
Q: So is the Pentagon going to coordinate with the Japanese government on safety (measure ?) or outcome of the inve- -- investigation before resuming the Osprey (craft ?)? Because this is a major concern of the Japanese.
MS. SINGH: Yeah. Appreciate the question -- just not going to get a- -- ahead of the services and the -- the investigation that they're leading. When they -- when -- when they have more they'll be ready to announce it.
Yes?
Q: (Humanitarian ?) daily rations are (often ?) designed to conform with cultural sensitivities.
MS. SINGH: Yeah.
Q: What about the MREs? Did somebody step in and make sure that the right kinds of food were being dropped?
MS. SINGH: Yes. These were culturally-sensitive MREs that were dropped.
Q: Thank you.
MS. SINGH: Yeah.
(inaudible). Yes?
Q: Thank you. Just follow up on Ryo's question. Can you say the U.S. will at least notify Japan before these (inaudible)?
MS. SINGH: We're going to be in close coordination with the Japanese government, but I'm not going to get ahead of any notifications.
Yeah? This will be a very short (inaudible). Yes, (inaudible), go ahead, then (Hailey ?).
Q: So over the weekend now, there's been a lot of talk about leaked audio conversations involving the Germans...
MS. SINGH: Yeah.
Q: ... where apparently they did not use a secure line and details were leaked about the British. Is the incident causing any concern in the Pentagon? And are you -- is the Pentagon revealing any of its communications with German military officials or other military officials in case they were not properly secured? And how concerned are you about the leaked information?
MS. SINGH: I don't have anything for you on the alleged calls that you're referencing. We always take security very -- we certainly prioritize security in classified calls in any -- you know, especially when it comes to discussing what's happening in Ukraine or any region of the world. But I don't have anything for you on that. I mean, it hasn't strained relations with the German government. We certainly appreciate Germany's contributions to Ukraine. They're obviously part of the UDCG, and so we appreciate all the work that they're doing to help support Ukraine.
Courtney? And then -- sorry.
Q: Oh, got a minute?
MS. SINGH: Oh, OK. Sure.
(CROSSTALK)
Q: So the SKY -- I think we had (saw ?) that the -- the Houthis may have hit an Israeli...
MS. SINGH: Yeah.
Q: ... -linked ship, the (SKY 2 ?). Is that can you confirm that that is -- I know there's a difference between, like, owned and operated and flagged and all those things. But I think it was affiliated with an Israeli company or something. Can you (inaudible)?
MS. SINGH: I literally, as I was walking out, just saw some of that early reporting. So I don't have more for you right now, in terms of the assessment. I don't have more on, like, the flagged ownership of this ship either. But it's something that we're going to look into, and I'm sure CENTCOM will put something out later today.
Q: OK.
MS. SINGH: Yeah.
Q: And then on the airdrop, I know this has probably been asked before but, I mean, we're having to take things from our own stocks to drop in. We're coordinating with the Israelis but clearly they're -- like you said, they're not allowing in the amount of, you know, trucks and -- via land that have been expected or hoped for.
So, I mean, how is that informing the Secretary's conversation with them? Is he -- like, is that a concern, that they just -- you know, at this point, we're having to -- to find ways to fill in aid that should be getting to -- to these people right (away ?)?
MS. SINGH: Yeah, I think you heard the Vice President speak to this yesterday a bit, about the need for these crossings to be opened and to allow these trucks to be allowed in. I mean, you have aid sitting on the other side for days. So it's certainly part of every conversation that the Secretary has with his counterpart.
There's an administration-wide effort with this. General Kurilla was on the ground just last week. You had the USAID Administrator on the ground also talking about the need to flow aid into Gaza. So it's certainly an administration (inaudible).
The fact that we did have to do these airdrops, as we recognized the situation is continuing to deteriorate, it's continuing to become more dire -- you know, you've seen the imagery, you've seen the reports out of the region. And so the humanitarian aid drop was just -- again, it didn't -- it's not going to solve it. It was 38,000 meals that we felt that we were able to provide at that time. Hopefully we'll be able to do more aid drops.
But it's certainly a priority of this administration to not only open those humanitarian corridors and allow aid to flow but to make sure that the -- they're getting to the people that need it most.
Q: Will further security aid be conditional on their allowance of allowing this in?
MS. SINGH: I think right now, it's just making sure that these humanitarian passageways -- or the -- the corridors remain open. We know that Israel and the IDF do face certainly a continued and tough fight from Hamas, but there are conversations at all levels of government on this.
Courtney?
Q: A couple. Is Secretary Austin well? Hospitalization (inaudible) we should know about?
MS. SINGH: Not to my knowledge. No, he's -- he's doing well, he's in the building. I saw him in a few ...
(CROSSTALK)
Nope, but appreciate the question. No, he's busy doing meetings and calls today, and in the building.
Q: Is -- who from the Pentagon is going to be meeting with Benny Gantz on his visit?
MS. SINGH: I'm not track -- I mean, the Secretary is not. I'm not -- I don't know -- I can't speak for others here across the department, but I would refer you to Benny Gantz to speak to who he's meeting with. I know that there are meetings and conversations happening at the White House level.
Q: And then has Pentagon leadership, either Secretary Austin or -- or the Chairman, anyone been briefed on the -- the Israeli plans for Rafah yet? Has there been any effort to share (inaudible) there -- there seems to be a -- a -- the U.S. has apparently requested to be brought in on the humanitarian piece and the military side.
MS. SINGH: I -- well, we've certainly asked for, you know, what their plan is, but again, we've said, like, we're not necessarily asking to grade homework here. We want to make sure that they have a direct plan when it comes to addressing, you know, the -- the many, many people that are in Rafah right now.
I'm not aware that a plan has been submitted. And again, we're not asking for that. We're asking that -- for them to take into consideration the humanitarian concerns that we have. It's something that the Secretary has spoken to Minister Gallant about before, but I just don't have more fr you on that.
Q: But -- but not asking to grade their homework necessarily but, I mean, I think it's pretty clear that the U.S. has requested that the Israelis share their plan (forward ?), even if it's just on the humanitarian piece. So are you aware that that's happened, that they've shared how they're going to keep 1.3 million civilians safe while they conduct a ...
MS. SINGH: To my knowledge, there's not been that sort of sharing, but there'll be -- you know, we remain in regular communication. Again, we're not asking for their full plan, we're asking for them to consider all the -- I mean, we're not on the ground, it's not our operation, but we are asking them to take into consideration some of the things that we would take into consideration, including the over one million people that are there, how -- what is your plan for moving them? What is your plan for securing -- whether it's security, food, aid, whatever it is that is needed in the south? We're certainly asking them to consider that as they consider their operation.
Q: And then last thing, the investigation into the -- the tragedy at the food distribution last week -- I'm sorry, I don't remember (inaudible) was. I think it was Tuesday.
MS. SINGH: February 29th.
Q: Thank you.
MS. SINGH: Yeah.
Q: Had -- so it seems as if the Israelis have concluded some sort of, like, a preliminary look at it or something, and they found that they're -- that nothing happened, nothing went wrong. And I wonder if -- have -- has that been briefed to the administration, to the Pentagon, anyone that you're aware of? And I -- is there any follow-on action that the -- I know you guys aren't on the ground but any follow-on action that's possible (inaudible)?
MS. SINGH: I mean, we're not conducting an investigation but we are -- I think they did an initial sort of assessment. And the assessment was -- and I'm just repeating what is publicly available -- was that there were trucks that, you know, were surrounded, there was sort of a -- I don't know if the right word is "stampede" but surrounded, and then there was some, you know -- a -- a -- clearly an incident with the IDF.
I think they're still looking into that. So I won't get ahead of that investigation. We're not doing our own. But we certainly welcome the fact that they are doing theirs.
Q: Just to follow on Courtney's question, why isn't the Secretary meeting Gantz, given that Gantz is meeting every -- almost every other national security leader in the administration?
MS. SINGH: It's just not on his schedule.
Q: Did he request a meeting and denied ...
MS. SINGH: I'm not aware of a meeting that was requested, but again, we have a great relationship with Prime Minister Gantz. He's meeting with the White House level -- I'm sorry, let me take a step back. Sorry. We have a great relationship with the Israeli government and we are in constant communications with them. He has -- the Secretary has -- you know, had his own calls with Minister Gallant as -- I think as recently as last week. I don't have the schedule in front of me.
But we have, you know, regular conversations at all different levels of government. I know Benny Gantz is meeting with the Vice President and others. I'll let him speak to his schedule.
Q: Is it possible to take the question if he's meeting with anyone else though, other than the Secretary? Cause, I mean, he's -- he has been the War Cabinet member, he's here on official business. Like, it -- it would stand to reason that there would be someone in the Pentagon who's part of these talks.
MS. SINGH: I'm not aware of any officials part of those meetings. Again, I think these are White House level meetings. If there is anyone, happy to -- happy to come back to you on that.
Q: Thank you.
MS. SINGH: Did I see one more? Oh, Konstantin, yeah?
Q: Sabrina, last week, German media reported that one of their frigates tried to shoot down an MQ-9 -- one of our MQ-9 drones. Its missiles ended up not connecting. But do you have any more details on that incident?
MS. SINGH: I don't have more details on that incident. We're -- we're certainly aware of it. Look, we have many ships operating in that region. One of the things that Operation Prosperity Guardian is doing is coordinating with other ships from other countries. It's a big operation, not under just OPG, but as you know, the EU just launched their own maritime operation. So there's a lot of coordination that needs to happen. But we're aware of the incident.
Q: So one of the -- one of the details in the reporting was that the Germans asked if the -- the -- the contact that they were intended to shoot down was a -- a drone that belonged to us, and were told no and were given permission. Do you have any insight on -- on that?
MS. SINGH: I'm not tracking anything like that.
Q: OK.
MS. SINGH: Yeah. (Shel ?)?
Q: Thanks. Do you have any indications -- were there -- any of the air dropped aid made it -- its way to Hamas or whether it was all kept (within ?) the civilian population?
MS. SINGH: We're not on the ground. We can't determine that. But from what we saw from our -- from what we were able to monitor, is that it was self-distributed, but no, we can't guarantee that there wasn't someone from Hamas that was there, that was able to get some of the aid. But from what we were able to see, it looked like citizens, civilians being able to get aid and distribute it amongst themselves.
Q: And then -- and secondly, do you know whether or not the Jordanians communicated with Hamas, you know, to -- to try and let them know not to fire at aircraft that were dropping aid?
MS. SINGH: I don't. You'd -- I'd refer you to the Jordanian government to speak to that.
Q: OK, but the U.S. didn't ask them to communicate on ...
MS. SINGH: I have nothing to read out on that.
Do you have one last question and then ...
(CROSSTALK)
OK. Brandi ...
Q: Just a quick one on the Red Sea. With the sinking of the Rubymar cargo ship, can we expect the deployment of any more counter-drone assets there in the near-term?
MS. SINGH: I wouldn't get ahead of any, you know, changes in our ...
(CROSSTALK)
Not that I'm tracking, but again, you have the Ike carrier strike group in the region with destroyers there helping protect and ensure freedom of navigation. I don't have anything to announce on that. I don't think that's something that we would announce, in that that's -- you know, gets to our own operational security.
But since you mentioned the Rubymar, obviously there was -- she did sink over the weekend, which, as you are probably tracking, was carrying thousands of pounds of fertilizer, which is going to create an environmental disaster right in the Houthis' backyard.
So again, how successful do they think they're being? I mean, now they have an -- environmental problems on their hands, and on top of that, have created more issues for commercial ships transiting that region. So yeah, put it that (way ?).
Yeah, Tara?
Q: One more on Gantz. Did Secretary Austin seek a meeting or did Gantz seek a meeting? Either way, was a request made on either side?
MS. SINGH: I have -- I'm just not going to get ahead of our -- any of -- I'm not going to detail our communications. We have -- again, as I mentioned to Idrees, we have good, open communications with the Israeli government. The Secretary has regularly spoken with Minister Gallant. But I just don't have anything to announce on their communication.
Q: Right, but is -- from that answer, it sounds like maybe there was something and he got turned down. Can you just actively say, like ...
MS. SINGH: I'm not tracking anything. Again, this is a White House-led meeting that is being done with, I think, the Vice President, Minister Gantz. I'm just going to leave it at that.
Q: He's going to the State Department though, I think, right?
MS. SINGH: I, again, don't have his schedule.
Yes?
Q: Were there any efforts to offload some of that fertilizer from the Rubymar before it sunk? I mean, I know it was taking on water for, like, over a week. So was there any conversation about "let's get as much of that off as we can before it goes under"?
MS. SINGH: We, as the department, didn't have that type of capacity. That'd be something that that -- a commercial shipping company would have to -- like, was -- would -- I'd let them speak to. I think they were looking at ways on how to, you know, tow her or salvage some of it. But I would -- I would refer you to the shipping company to speak to more of those operation.
Last one?
Q: Thank you. Normally with airdrops, you have airmen on the ground at the drop zone who are coordinating it and securing it. Are there any plans to put U.S. troops on the ground in Gaza at these drop zones?
MS. SINGH: There are not.
Q: OK.
MS. SINGH: All right, thanks, everyone.