Biden said the US military will drop supplies and food into Gaza by air

Within a day of Palestinians dying while waiting for relief, US President Joe Biden revealed plans on Friday to launch the first military airdrop of food and supplies into Gaza, bringing attention to the humanitarian crisis that is developing in the besieged coastal enclave.

Biden gave no further details other than to say that the US airdrop would happen in the next several days. There have already been humanitarian airdrops into Gaza by other nations, including as France and Jordan.

Speaking to reporters, Biden stated, “We need to do more and the United States will do more,” and that “aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough.”

Spokesman for the White House John Kirby emphasized that airdrops would turn into “a sustained effort.” “Meals ready-to-eat,” or military MREs, would probably be the first airdrop item, he continued.

Kirby declared, “This isn’t going to be one and done.”

Speaking to reporters, Biden stated that the US was also considering the prospect of establishing a marine route to transport substantial supplies of aid into Gaza.

According to officials, the airdrops might start as early as this weekend.

As to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, a quarter of the population of the Gaza Strip, or at least 576,000 people, are in danger of starvation.

According to Gaza’s health authorities, Israeli forces murdered over a hundred individuals early on Thursday while they were attempting to approach a rescue convoy close to Gaza City. Almost five months into the conflict, the situation for Palestinians is becoming more and more dire.

Israel claimed that people who gathered near relief trucks had run over or tramped on the victims, and blamed them for the majority of the deaths. Additionally, according to an Israeli official, troops had fired on crowds they believed to be a threat “in a limited response” later on.

The UN has stated that it confronts “overwhelming obstacles” in delivering help, with families turning to animal feed and even cacti for survival and medical professionals reporting that malnourished and dehydrated children are dying in hospitals.

The C-17 and C-130 are the most appropriate aircraft for the task, though it is unknown which kind will be employed.

According to retired three-star general David Deptula, who oversaw the establishment of the no-fly zone over northern Iraq, airdrops are a maneuver that the US military can carry out with effectiveness.

Deptula told Reuters, “It’s something that’s right up their mission alley.”

“There are numerous intricate difficulties. However, nothing is insurmountable.

A short ceasefire, which Biden stated on Friday he hoped would occur by the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins on March 10, is also anticipated by the United States and others to enhance help.

‘Aware’ of the airdrop is Israel

However, there have been doubts regarding the humanitarian aid that has been airdropped into Gaza.

Speaking under anonymity, a US official stated that the airdrops will only slightly lessen the suffering of people in Gaza.

The official stated, “It doesn’t deal with the root cause,” and that, in the end, only opening up land borders could seriously address the problem.

The official stated that another problem was that, without troops on the ground, the US could not guarantee that the supplies stayed out of the hands of Hamas.

UN Director Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group observed, “Humanitarian workers always complain that airdrops are good photo opportunities but a lousy way to deliver aid.” Gowan stated that relief convoys, which would come after a truce, were the only means of getting adequate aid.

One may argue that given how dire things are in Gaza right now, any extra supplies will at least help to lessen the suffering. However, this is only a stopgap solution,” Gowan continued.

Other US officials stated that the Biden administration was considering sending help by sea from Cyprus, which is located around 210 nautical miles off the Mediterranean coast of Gaza, in response to domestic and international pressure.

Kirby admitted at the White House that the continued fighting and dense population in Gaza made airdrops “very difficult.”

The US has been pleading with Israel for months to permit more aid to enter Gaza, but Israel has refused. All attempts at a long-term truce, however, have been derailed by Washington.

Kirby pointed out that Israel was in favor of the US airdropping aid and that it had attempted to airdrop supplies into Gaza.

“We are cognizant of the humanitarian airdrop,” a Washington-based Israeli official stated.

Speaking under anonymity, the official failed to respond to a question about whether the US was coordinating the operation with Israel or had asked for its approval in advance of the air drops.

Biden made two mistakes when announcing the additional help to Gaza: first, he mistook it for aid to Ukraine.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the UN sent aid to the besieged northern Gaza on Friday for the first time in more than a week. The UN supplied fuel, vaccines, and medications to the Gaza City al-Shifa Hospital.

Ten days ago, the World Food Programme said that it would stop supplying food aid to the northern part of Gaza until the Palestinian enclave’s circumstances permitted a safe distribution.

On Friday, the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, reported that, on average, only 97 trucks entered Gaza per day in February, down from roughly 150 trucks per day in January. The organization further stated that, “The number of trucks entering Gaza remains well below the target of 500 per day.”