Senator Chris Van Hollen has said Israel has denied him and Senator Jeff Merkley permission to join a Jordanian flight to airdrop food in Gaza.

“Netanyahu is restricting aid trucks into Gaza — the best way to get food to starving people there — so Jordan is delivering some with air drops,” Van Hollen wrote on X.

“The Jordanians said Senator Jeff Merkley and I could join one of those flights to see the devastation, but Israel denied authorisation for our scheduled flight.”

He added that Israel had also denied the duo’s entry into Gaza to “see first-hand the destruction” of Gaza.