[News] ‘Airdrops are Ineffective’ - People in Gaza Urge to Open Crossings, Stop the War

[Anti-Imperialist News]

palestinechronicle.com
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/airdrops-are-ineffective-people-in-gaza-urge-to-open-crossings-stop-the-war/>
‘Airdrops are Ineffective’ - People in Gaza Urge to Open Crossings, Stop
the WarMarch 5, 2024
------------------------------
The Jordanian army air-dropped aid and relief to displaced Palestinians in
besieged Gaza. (Image: Palestine Chronicle)

*By Abdallah Aljamal – Gaza
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/writers/abdallah-aljamal>*

The US Air Force, in collaboration with the Jordanian Air Force, began
airdropping food aid on Saturday, March 2. The US administration announced
that it had dropped about 38,000 meals in the city of Rafah, in the
southern Gaza Strip.

Israel has imposed a “complete siege” on Gaza, bombing it from the land,
sea and air and cutting off power, food and water. The situation is
particularly dramatic in northern Gaza, where aid trucks are now allowed to
access.

Moreover, on February 29, Israeli forces opened fire and shelled crowds
awaiting humanitarian aid convoys at the Al-Nabulsi roundabout, in Gaza
City, killing and wounding nearly 1,000 Palestinians.

Egypt, France, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates have participated in
aid airdrops to Gaza in recent days, but experts say they are inefficient
and expensive.

Additionally, part of the meals have fallen into the sea or in the
so-called Gaza envelope.

The Palestine Chronicle spoke to some residents of Gaza. They all agreed on
the only possible solution: stopping the war and opening all crossings.
*A Small Percentage*

Mohammed Al-Hams is a resident of the city of Rafah. He told the Palestine
Chronicle that its population “has multiplied by more than five times, due
to the influx of displaced people fleeing from Israeli bombardment.”

“We were surprised on Saturday morning by the airdrop of aid on the city of
Rafah. The United States dropped 38,000 meals, while the number of
displaced people in the city of Rafah exceeds one and a half million. This
means that what was dropped was not even enough for 5 percent of the
displaced people,” he said.

Ahmed al-Salehi is worried that the aid will not reach northern Gaza.

“We expected the food aid to be dropped on Gaza City and the northern
governorates of the Gaza Strip, but we were surprised by the dropping of a
very small batch on Rafah City,” he told us.

“The residents of the northern Gaza Strip need it the most. While famine is
spreading in all areas of the Gaza Strip, the residents of Gaza and the
north are the most needy at this time,” al-Salehi added.

Shadi Dasht told The Palestine Chronicle that “the American aid drops
cannot make the people of Gaza forget that the United States is the biggest
partner and supporter of Israel in its war on the Gaza Strip.”

“The people of Gaza want the US to stop its military aid to the occupation
forces, which is much more important than dropping a few food aids,” he
said.
*‘Open the Crossings’*

Sahar Hussein told us that “the US is capable of pressuring the occupation
and delivering aid through the Gaza crossings.”

“People in Gaza need flour, sugar, and essential supplies, which must be
brought in through the Gaza crossings,” he explained.

Ahmed Abu Hamda told us that “Delivering aid through the Gaza crossings is
much easier than dropping it from the air.”

“The US must stand by its responsibilities and stop its continuous military
support for Israel. It should pressure the occupation to end the war and
deliver aid,” he said, adding that “everyone must work to save the children
of Gaza from the war of starvation and the continuous bombardment that has
not stopped for the last five months.”

“The world is currently facing a real test of its humanity,” Abu Hamda
said:

“Either it works to stop the war, or it continues to support Israel in the
genocide we are facing in Gaza. We want to stop the war. We want to provide
food for our children. We want to live in safety and peace. We dream of
having an independent state. We dream of a beautiful future for our
children.”

*(The Palestine Chronicle)*


–* Abdallah Aljamal is a Gaza-based journalist. He is a correspondent for
The Palestine Chronicle in the Gaza Strip.*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20240305/75dbb401/attachment.htm>