Jordan and Egypt are already bringing aid supplies to the Gaza Strip by air. Now the USA is also planning to drop aid supplies. It remains to be seen whether this will really change the situation.
The USA wants to provide the civilian population in the Gaza Strip with aid from the air and is considering deliveries by sea. US President Joe Biden announced at the White House that they would join forces with Jordan and others in the coming days and drop more food and aid supplies from the air.
Biden emphasized that more aid must also reach the Gaza Strip by land. The White House also made it clear that it would continue to work toward an agreement on a ceasefire. A proposal for a six-week ceasefire is currently on the table.
Biden did speak of Ukraine in his comments about air aid deliveries – but it was obvious that it was a slip of the tongue. The White House subsequently clarified this. White House National Security Council Communications Director John Kirby provided further details following Biden’s remarks. He said the U.S. government was simultaneously working to “use maritime shipping to try to provide assistance from the coast.” It is very dangerous to bring aid to the Gaza Strip by truck.
With regard to the air deliveries, Kirby did not give a specific day. But he announced that food would be dropped first. “There are few military operations more complicated than air-dropping humanitarian aid,” he stressed. It would be “extremely difficult” to carry out a drop in an area as densely populated as the Gaza Strip. Many people are crammed into a small space. They want to get as close as possible to those in need, but not in such a way that they end up in danger. “This is not a humanitarian disaster zone like an earthquake or hurricane zone. This is a war zone.”
Fights over packages
Jordan has been dropping aid supplies over the Gaza Strip since November and Egypt has been doing so for a few days. The flights are coordinated with Israel. The food or medicine dropped brings some relief from the need, especially in areas that are difficult or impossible to reach by land with aid deliveries, such as the northern Gaza Strip. However, UN organizations point out that the quantities that can be delivered through airdrops are rather small.
Given the large number of people suffering in the Gaza Strip, the effect is quickly dissipated, they say. In addition, all order has collapsed in the affected areas of Gaza as a result of the war. Young men often fight over the dropped packages in order to get something for their families. It would be easier, say UN officials, if Israel would simply allow aid deliveries to be delivered by truck through border crossings in the north of the Gaza Strip.
Not enough help at the moment
US President Biden emphasized that they would insist that Israel provide more trucks and more routes “so that more and more people can get the help they need.” Because the aid that is currently reaching the Gaza Strip is not enough. The White House made it clear that air delivery should not replace truck transport. The US government has been warning about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza for weeks and is insisting on a ceasefire.
Together with Egypt and Qatar, Washington is mediating between the Islamist Hamas and Israel in order to achieve a ceasefire. The goals are to release the hostages in the hands of Hamas and to improve the delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip. Kirby said there is currently a proposal on the table that would result in a six-week ceasefire. However, it remained unclear whether and when an agreement could be reached. “We continue to work to ensure that the hostages can be released and that the violence decreases. When the fighting ends, aid will flow more freely.”
Representatives of the United Nations recently warned in the Security Council of the starvation of thousands of civilians in the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing ahead with a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and restricting humanitarian aid despite ongoing ceasefire negotiations. On Thursday, when an aid convoy arrived in the Gaza Strip, many desperate people tried to get relief supplies. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority in the Gaza Strip, more than a hundred people were killed and more than 700 injured.
While the Palestinian side said that Israeli soldiers had deliberately fired into the crowd, the Israeli military blamed the chaos and crowds for the deaths. Shots were fired, but only a few people were injured. Numerous countries, including the USA and Germany, then demanded clarification from Israel. The tragedy occurred on the day the 30,000 death mark was passed since the start of the Israeli military offensive.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
