WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden announced plans for the first military airdrop of food and supplies into Gaza on Friday, a day after the deaths of Palestinians waiting in line for aid cast a spotlight on the unfolding humanitarian disaster in the besieged coastal enclave.
Biden said the U.S. airdrop would take place in the coming days, but gave no further details. Other countries, including Jordan and France, have already airdropped aid into Gaza.
“We need to do more and the United States will do more,” Biden told reporters, adding that “the aid flowing into Gaza is nowhere near enough.”
At the White House, spokesman John Kirby emphasized that the airdrops would become a “sustained effort.” He added that the first drop would likely be military MREs, or “meals ready for immediate consumption.”
“This is not going to be one and done,” Kirby said.
Biden told reporters that the U.S. is also considering a maritime corridor that would deliver large amounts of aid to Gaza.
Airdrops could begin as early as this weekend, officials said.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at least 576,000 people in the Gaza Strip – one quarter of the enclave’s population – are one step away from starvation.
Gaza health authorities said Israeli forces killed more than 100 people trying to reach a rescue convoy near Gaza City on Thursday. Nearly five months after the war, the Palestinians face an increasingly desperate situation.
Israel blamed most of the deaths on mobs that swarmed around the trucks, claiming the victims had been trampled or run over. An Israeli official also claimed that soldiers “in a limited response” later fired on crowds they saw as a threat.
With people eating animal feed and even cacti to survive and doctors saying children are dying in hospitals of malnutrition and dehydration, the UN said it faces “overwhelming obstacles” in getting aid.
While it is unclear what type of aircraft will be used, the C-17 and C-130 are best suited for the job.
David Deptula, a retired three-star US Air Force general who once commanded a no-fly zone over northern Iraq, said airdrops are something the US military can do effectively.
“It’s something that’s right up their mission alley,” Deptula told Reuters.
“There are a lot of detailed challenges. But nothing insurmountable.”
The United States and others also expect aid to be boosted by a temporary truce, which Biden said Friday he hoped would happen in time for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins March 10.
Israel is “aware” of the airstrikes
Still, questions have been raised about the effectiveness of airdropping aid into Gaza.
A US official said on condition of anonymity that the airstrikes would have only a limited impact on the suffering of the people in Gaza.
“It doesn’t address the root cause,” the official said, adding that ultimately only opening land borders could solve the problem.
Another problem, the official added, was that the U.S. could not ensure that aid did not simply end up in the hands of Hamas, given that the United States had no troops on the ground.
“Aid workers always complain that airdrops are a good photo opportunity but a lousy way to deliver aid,” said Richard Gowan, director of the UN’s International Crisis Group. Gowan said the only way to get enough aid is through aid convoys that will abide by the ceasefire.
“It is arguable that the situation in Gaza is now so bad that any additional supplies will at least alleviate some of the suffering. But this is a temporary relief measure at best,” Gowan added.
Pressed at home and abroad, another US official said the Biden administration was seeking naval aid from Cyprus, about 210 nautical miles from Gaza’s Mediterranean coast.
At the White House, Kirby acknowledged that landings in Gaza were “extremely difficult” because of the dense population and ongoing conflict.
The US has been calling on Israel for months to allow more aid to Gaza, which Israel has resisted. However, Washington torpedoed every attempt at a permanent truce.
Kirby noted that Israel had attempted to drop supplies into Gaza and was supporting American aid in the airdrop.
“We are aware of the humanitarian landing,” said an Israeli official in Washington.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not respond to a question about whether the U.S. sought an agreement with Israel in advance on the airstrikes or coordinated efforts with it.
Biden’s announcement of new aid to Gaza was marred by gibberish as he twice confused it with Ukraine.
The United Nations delivered aid to the besieged northern Gaza Strip for the first time in more than a week on Friday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. The UN has delivered medicine, vaccines and fuel to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
The World Food Program announced 10 days ago that it was suspending food aid deliveries to northern Gaza until conditions in the Palestinian enclave allow for safe distribution.
The United Nations’ Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said on Friday that an average of nearly 97 trucks were able to enter Gaza each day during February, compared with around 150 trucks a day in January, adding: “The number of trucks entering Gaza remains well below the target.” 500 per day.”
