US military cargo planes have dropped food on Gaza, in the first of a series of aid drops as humanitarian groups criticize Israel for blocking access to the besieged and bombed strip.
The United States, in conjunction with the Jordanian Air Force, “conducted a combined airdrop of humanitarian aid to Gaza… to provide critical assistance to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict,” the United States said Saturday. US Central Command in a statement.
C-130 planes “dropped more than 38,000 meals along the Gaza coast, allowing civilians to access essential aid,” he adds, as the enclave faces a crisis. humanitarian crisis after nearly five months of war.
US President Joe Biden announced a day earlier that the United States would drop aid there after more than 100 Palestinians were killed in northern Gaza on Thursday while queuing for aid. .
U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Friday that the United States would conduct several airdrops in the coming weeks, which would be coordinated with Jordan.
Kirby said airdrops have an advantage over trucks because planes can get aid to a particular area quickly. However, in terms of volume, airdrops will be “a complement, not a replacement, for the ground transport of objects,” he added.
The Biden administration is also considering delivering aid by sea from Cyprus, according to a U.S. official.
Since the Israeli war began on October 7 following the Hamas attack, Israel has barred the entry of food, water, medicine and other supplies, except for a tiny trickle of aid entering the south from Egypt at the Rafah and Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing. ) crossing.
“The United States is weak”
The US decision was criticized as ineffective and simply a public relations move by members of international humanitarian organizations.
“The airdrops are symbolic and designed in a way to appease the national base,” Dave Harden, former USAID West Bank director, told Tel Aviv Tribune. “Really, what’s needed is more crossings (openings) and more trucks coming in every day.”
“I think the U.S. is weak and that’s really disappointing for me,” Harden added. “The United States has the ability to compel Israel to increase its aid and, by failing to do so, we are putting our assets and population at risk and potentially creating more chaos in Gaza. »
British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) echoed Harden’s statement, telling Tel Aviv Tribune in a statement that the US, UK and others should instead work to “ensure that Israel immediately opens all crossing points into Gaza for aid.”
Oxfam also blasted the Biden administration’s plans, calling the efforts an attempt to assuage the guilty conscience of U.S. officials.
“As Palestinians in Gaza have been pushed to the brink, sending a paltry and token amount of aid to Gaza without any plan for its safe distribution would be of no use and would be deeply degrading to Palestinians,” said Scott Paul, who leads Oxfam’s advocacy with the US government. work, said in a statement on X.
The United States plans to drop aid to Gaza. My statement:
“Oxfam does not support US airdrops into Gaza, which would serve primarily to ease the guilty conscience of senior US officials whose policies contribute to ongoing atrocities and the risk of famine in Gaza.
1/
– Scott Paul (@ScottTPaul) February 29, 2024
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry also criticized the United States for its behavior as a “weak and marginal state”, incapable of providing aid to the Palestinians.
US Senator Bernie Sanders, however, welcomed the American decision.
“I commend President Biden for understanding that there is a serious humanitarian crisis in Gaza. » Sanders said on X.
Mahjoob Zweiri, director of the Gulf Studies Center in Doha, told Tel Aviv Tribune that the international community is not putting enough pressure on Israel to allow waiting aid trucks to enter Gaza by land.
“Why not send food through Karem Abu Salem? Zweiri said. “There are 2,000 trucks waiting to enter Gaza” at border crossings, he said, while food and medicine pile up months past their expiration date.
“Why isn’t the international community making enough effort to provide aid in an organized manner? ” He asked.
