Washington may join growing Jordanian initiative to fly aid into Palestinian
The US may soon begin dropping aid into the Gaza Strip, where the UN says about 600,000 Palestinians face starvation as Israel continues to delay the entry of relief convoys.
President Joe Biden’s administration is considering joining a Jordanian-led operation also involving France, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, Axios reported on Thursday. Canada has also said it will soon join the initiative.
Jordan’s army, joined for the first time by Bahrain and Oman, flew two missions to drop aid into Gaza on Thursday,
a Jordanian military official said.
Britain’s Royal Air Force has provided 582 cargo parachutes to assist in the effort. Bahrain has also asked for parachutes, the UK Foreign Office said.
Also on Thursday, the UAE Ministry of Defence announced the launch of Operation Birds of Goodness, under which Emirati and Egyptian planes dropped 36 tonnes of humanitarian aid into northern Gaza, state news agency Wam reported.
The planes used GPS-guided parachutes to deliver the aid, a common approach in the crisis so far, as there are few safe drop zones in Gaza for civilians to collect the supplies.
The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Tuesday that aid groups faced “overwhelming obstacles just to get a bare minimum of supplies into Gaza”.
The UN has accused Israel of applying complex inspection processes to hold up aid convoys on Gaza’s border with Egypt, exacerbating food shortages in the enclave.
Northern Gaza has been hit particularly hard, as near constant fighting has cut off routes used to bring aid from the south of the enclave.
Canadian International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen said on Wednesday that Ottawa was urgently looking
at ways to deliver supplies, and that “air drops of aid into Gaza, in partnership with like-minded countries like Jordan” were among the options.
Jordan launched the initiative in November and has since flown 16 missions to deliver relief to the besieged Palestinian territory.
Israel, which controls the air space above Gaza, says it is also playing a role, although the extent of its involvement is unclear.
Jessica Moussan, Middle East spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, told The National that any initiative that brings in much-needed relief is wel
comed as pressure mounts for faster aid delivery and greater volumes.
“The logistics involved in air drops extend beyond the drop itself. It includes secure identification of drop-off locations, and the co-ordination of collection, storage, and distribution on the ground,” she said.
“Operations need clear arrangements and co-operation of many different stakeholders to ensure aid is delivered safely and effectively.”
As a result, such operations are the most expensive way of delivering relief to civilians, Ms Moussan said.
Last month, a convoy of 11 lorries carried 240 tonnes of aid into Gaza, which would take a C-130 Hercules aircraft – operated by about 60 of the world’s air forces – about 13 flights to carry.
A Hercules, which can carry about 12-18 tonnes of cargo depending on the model, costs about $10,000 an hour to operate.
However, she added, the ICRC does not believe that it is feasible for enough aid to enter Gaza through the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, as it is not designed for commercial use.