Small amount of ‘symbolic’ US aid angers Gazans facing famine
Gazans have reacted angrily to a US delivery of aid, which provided 38,000 meals to those in the besieged enclave.
The aid from the US offered relief to a tiny fraction of Gaza’s population, with about 2.3 million facing famine.
A senior diplomat from a G7 country told The National that the US had asked its allies to participate in the relief operation, but that the majority would rather more aid be delivered through the Rafah border crossing.
“What the Americans are doing is symbolic,” the diplomat said. “Other countries might join in the air drops to help Washington politically, but there is no substitute for overland supplies.”
Gazans said the small amounts of aid delivered by US planes led to a dangerous scramble for food.
Images posted on social media showed heavy pallets of aid falling quickly near crowds of people, which experts said posed a risk to life on the ground.
Some said they would not seek such aid as it was not worth the difficulty and humiliation of rushing to access supplies. Mohammed Al Firi, who fled to Rafah from Gaza city, said he witnessed the US airdrop but was unable to receive any aid.
“Only those who can run and follow the parachutes can receive aid, Mr Al Firi told The National. “Otherwise, no one else can access this aid.
“The aid is supposed to enter through the border, as this current method does not help people.
“On the contrary, it harms them, as some individuals get injured due to the pushing and shoving.”
On Sunday, Gaza’s Ministry of Health spokesman Ashraf Al Qudra said that 15 children have died due to drought and malnutrition in the north of the enclave.
Aid agencies said a leading factor in the humanitarian crisis
is laborious Israeli inspection of aid lorries at the main crossing point, Rafah, on the Egyptian border, which has resulted in about 100 lorries travelling into Gaza each day, half of what the UN says is the bare minimum needed.
Israeli attacks on Hamas police officers escorting aid convoys have also curtailed the movement of supplies, especially in the north.
More than 127 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces on Friday as they struggled to access lorry loads of aid, in an incident now being investigated by the EU and Amnesty International.
“I can’t sleep. Seeing my people running after the aid is breaking my heart.
“We need people who live among us, feel our pain, and experience our suffering to help decide our fate,” Hussein Murtaja said.
“We dreamt and wished for a dignified life, but we find ourselves in strange streets, cold tents and endless nightmares.”
Ghazi Jamal said the amount of air provided was not enough. “This does not meet the minimum requirements of the population in Gaza … its purpose is for display and to lift the embarrassment and
blame,” he said. “People in the north of Gaza are suffering from hunger and fatigue, feeling as if they are drowning people clinging to a straw.
“When this aid was distributed, the residents followed them to get scraps of aid to meet some of their needs, but most returned with nothing, feeling broken-hearted.”
Ali Loai, who is currently living in a tent in Rafah with five other family members, said that he did not try to receive any of the aid.
“I will not chase after the aid, because we are better than that,” he said.
“Our situation is so difficult, and the prices are so high, and I cannot fulfil all of my family’s needs. At the same time, I will not fight with others to get a small package that will not be sufficient for us.
“I wonder why America is utilising air drops when they could pressure Israel to allow aid trucks to enter Gaza through the Rafah border.
“In this way, we could receive aid in a dignified manner.”
In Jordan, the Royal Palace quoted King Abdullah as saying his government “will keep pushing to stop the war and provide humanitarian, emergency and medical aid to Gaza by land and air”.