French and Arab aircraft drop much-needed aid to besieged enclave
King Abdullah II of Jordan inspected cargo on Arab and French aircraft this week before they flew aid into Gaza from a base near Amman.
In videos on social media on Tuesday, the king was seen on board one of the planes as parcels were dropped into Gaza.
Meanwhile, President Emmanuel Macron’s X account showed a photo of French airmen preparing one of the crates for the air delivery.
About five months into the war between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hamas, the flow of aerial aid from Jordan – few in number at first – has increased, although it provides only a fraction of the humanitarian needs in Gaza.
It does, however, help governments in Paris and the Middle East to respond to growing public anger over humanitarian conditions in the enclave, observers said.
These players, with support from Washington, are also sending a united message to Israel against continuing its restrictions on the flow of aid, they said.
Jordanian political analyst Hazem Ayyad said the air drops have a “green light” from Washington, and that they could rob Israel of its “starvation card” if more countries become involved.
“The rejection of Israel’s starvation policies is widespread,” Mr Ayyad said, describing Israel’s almost total blockade of the enclave.
Israel is also benefiting by allowing planes to deliver aid, partly to undermine allegations that it is pursuing genocide in Gaza, he said.
Aid aircraft have to co-ordinate with the Israeli military, which controls the airspace over Gaza and conducts nonstop bombing missions.
“The air drops show how complex this war is,” Mr Ayyad said.
A report from Amnesty International this week said Israeli authorities “have failed to ensure sufficient life-saving goods and services are reaching a population at risk of genocide and on the brink of famine”.
Israel has also “failed to lift restrictions on the entry of life-saving goods, or open additional aid access points and crossings or put in place an effective system to protect humanitarians from attack”, the organisation said.
The Israeli military said several of its departments were involved in the air drops, which reached 17 sites in southern Gaza in the past two days.
Jordan began very limited air drops to two hospitals in Gaza in November.
Over the past several weeks, its air force was joined by other US allies to drop tonnes of food, medicine and fuel at unspecified sites on the Gaza shoreline.
About 1,000 tonnes of aid a week is needed to feed 500,000 people in Gaza, or one fifth of its population, the UN World Food Programme said.
The acceleration of aid from Jordan this week occurred as Samantha Power, head of the UN Agency for International Development, announced additional US aid to Gaza.