US to drop food aid into Gaza: Why the task is complicated

In the latest development, the United States is planning to carry out airdrops of food and supplies into Gaza in the coming days.

The development comes a day after the deaths of Palestinians queuing for aid threw a spotlight on an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in the crowded coastal enclave.

Other countries, including Jordan and France, have already carried out airdrops of aid into Gaza.

“In the coming days, we’re going to join with our friends in Jordan and others who are providing airdrops of additional food and supplies” and will “seek to open up other avenues in, including possibly a marine corridor,” Biden said, according to The Associated Press.

The president twice referred to airdrops to help Ukraine, but White House officials clarified that he was referring to Gaza.

But sending aid to Gaza won’t be easy. Here’s why.

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How will it work?

America will use military aircraft to drop supplies like military MREs, or “meals ready-to-eat,” over Gaza.

The C-17 and C-130 are the most appropriate aircraft for the task, though it is unknown which one will be utilised, according to Reuters. The US Air Force says a C-17 can carry 40 pallets, compared to a C-130’s 16 capacity.

Pallets are loaded onto aircraft by military personnel on the ground, after which they are secured in place.

The lock securing the supplies is released after the aircraft reaches the required altitude, and with the aid of a parachute fastened to the pallet, they descend to the ground.

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In 2014, the American military airdropped aid in northern Iraq, where civilians were trapped by Islamic State fighters. In those few months, more than 100,000 meals and 96,000 water bottles were airdropped, according to another Reuters report.

At the White House, spokesperson John Kirby stressed that airdrops would become “a sustained effort.” “This isn’t going to be one and done,” he said.

David Deptula, a retired US Air Force three-star general who once commanded the no-fly zone over northern Iraq, said airdrops are something the US military can effectively execute.

“It is something that’s right up their mission alley,” Deptula told Reuters, adding, “There are a lot of detailed challenges. But there’s nothing insurmountable.”

Biden told reporters that the US was also looking at the possibility of a maritime corridor to deliver large amounts of aid to Gaza.

Why won’t it be easy?

While the military can look at weather patterns ahead of time, the wind plays a large role in ensuring that they land where they should.

Several social media videos have shown some aid delivered by other countries ending up in the sea.

Gaza is densely populated, and officials say it will be difficult to ensure that the aid reaches the people who need it and doesn’t end up in some unreachable place.

“It is extremely difficult to do an airdrop in such a crowded environment as is Gaza,” Kirby said.

Officials also say that without a US military presence on the ground, there is no guarantee that the aid will not end up in the hands of Hamas.

A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the airdrops would have only a limited impact on the suffering of those in Gaza.

“It doesn’t deal with the root cause,” the official said, adding that ultimately only opening up land borders could deal with the issue in a serious manner.

Another issue, the official added, was that the U.S. could not ensure that the aid simply didn’t end up in Hamas’ hands, given that the United States did not have troops on the ground.

“Humanitarian workers always complain that airdrops are good photo opportunities but a lousy way to deliver aid,” Richard Gowan, the International Crisis Group’s U.N. Director, said. Gowan said that the only way to get enough aid was through aid convoys which would follow a truce.

“It is arguable that the situation in Gaza is now so bad that any additional supplies will at least alleviate some suffering. But this at best a temporary band aid measure,” Gowan added.

Is Israel aware of the airdrop?

Yes.

“We are aware of the humanitarian airdrop,” said an Israeli official in Washington.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, did not reply to a question on whether the US had sought Israeli agreement in advance on the air drops or was coordinating the effort with it.

For months, the US has been calling for Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, something Israel has resisted previously.

What’s the current situation in Gaza?

At least 576,000 people in the Gaza Strip — one-quarter of the enclave’s population — are one step away from famine, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Gaza health authorities said Israeli forces had killed more than 100 people trying to reach a relief convoy near Gaza City early on Thursday, as Palestinians face an increasingly desperate situation nearly five months into the war that began with a Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October.

Israel blamed most of the deaths on crowds that swarmed around aid trucks, saying victims had been trampled or run over. An Israeli official also said troops had “in a limited response” later fired on crowds they felt had posed a threat.

With people eating animal feed and even cactuses to survive, and with medics saying children are dying in hospitals from malnutrition and dehydration, the U.N. has said it faces “overwhelming obstacles” getting in aid.

The UN delivered aid to besieged northern Gaza for the first time in over a week on Friday, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The UN delivered medicines, vaccines and fuel to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.

The World Food Programme said 10 days ago that it was pausing deliveries of food aid to northern Gaza until conditions in the Palestinian enclave allow for safe distribution.

The UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said on Friday that during February, an average of nearly 97 trucks were able to enter Gaza each day, compared with about 150 trucks a day in January, adding: “The number of trucks entering Gaza remains well below the target of 500 per day.”

With inputs from The Associated Press and Reuters