US President Joe Biden has said that his government plans to carry out a first military airdrop of food and supplies into Gaza, a day after the deaths of Palestinians queuing for aid.
Biden did not mention when the airdrop would take place. Other countries like Jordan and France, have already carried out airdrops of aid into Gaza.
“We need to do more and the United States will do more. The aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough,” Biden said.
At the White House press briefing, spokesperson John Kirby stressed that the airdrops would need to be a sustained operation and the first batch of food items to be dropped may include ready to eat meals.
“This isn’t going to be one and done,” Kirby added.
There have also been questions about the effectiveness of air-dropping aid into Gaza.
“Humanitarian workers always complain that airdrops are good photo opportunities but a lousy way to deliver aid,” Richard Gowan, the International Crisis Group’s UN 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 is a temporary band-aid measure,” Gowan added.
The United Nations recently said that famine in the Gaza Strip is almost inevitable unless the Israel-Hamas war changes. At least 576,000 people in the Gaza Strip are in urgent need of food and essential items, the UN said.
Officials say that Israeli forces have killed over 100 people trying to reach a relief convoy near Gaza City on Thursday.
As expected, the Israeli government has blamed most of the deaths on the crowds, saying that the victims were trampled over. The government added that the forces later fired on crowds as they felt it posed a threat.
