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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://electronicintifada.net/content/demeaning-airdrops-over-gaza-are-humanitarian-aid-theater/44946">electronicintifada.net</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Demeaning airdrops over Gaza are humanitarian aid theater</h1>
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<p class="gmail-node__submitted">
<span class="gmail-field"><span class="gmail-field-author"><a href="https://electronicintifada.net/people/tamara-nassar">Tamara Nassar</a> and </span><span class="gmail-field-author"><a href="https://electronicintifada.net/people/ali-abunimah">Ali Abunimah</a></span></span>
<span class="gmail-field gmail-field-publisher"><a href="https://electronicintifada.net/people/electronic-intifada">The Electronic Intifada</a></span>
<span class="gmail-field gmail-field-publication-date"><span class="gmail-date-display-single">3 March 2024</span></span> </p>
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<img src="https://electronicintifada.net/sites/default/files/styles/original_800w/public/2024-03/240301_-_airdrops.png?itok=odtwP5fc×tamp=1709429754" width="408" height="230" alt="Aerial image of parachutes descending onto land" title="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;">
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<p>The Jordanian air drops aid packages into the Gaza Strip. (<a href="https://twitter.com/KingAbdullahII/status/1763530957154377933">King Abdullah / Twitter</a>)</p>
<p>The United States, in collaboration with the Jordanian air force, dropped aid packages into Gaza on Saturday.</p>
<p>What is being marketed as benevolent assistance amounts to humanitarian aid theater that does nothing to end the <a href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora-barrows-friedman/every-child-gaza-faces-starvation">systematic and intentional campaign of starvation</a> Israel and its American and European allies, with the complicity of regional regimes, are waging against Palestinians.</p>
<p>Experts and aid officials have made clear that these airdrops are not
an effective way to alleviate the starvation of 2.3 million people in
Gaza deliberately caused by Israel, with the full backing of the United
States.</p>
<p>By participating in these drops, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates,
but especially Jordan whose air force is carrying them out, are
providing public relations cover for countries directly involved in
Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.</p>
<p>The effect – whether intentional or not – is to relieve Israel and
its backers of pressure to lift the total siege Tel Aviv has imposed on
the coastal enclave with the <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/defense-minister-announces-complete-siege-of-gaza-no-power-food-or-fuel/">clear intent</a> of causing maximum suffering and death to as many people as possible.</p>
<h2>Children starving</h2>
<p>Right now, children in Gaza “are being starved at the fastest rate the world has ever seen,” <a href="https://twitter.com/MedicalAidPal/status/1763172220900151317">said</a> Melanie Ward, CEO of the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians.</p>
<p>“It’s very simple. It’s because the Israeli military won’t let it
in,” Ward told CNN on Thursday, explaining why aid is not reaching Gaza.
“We could end the starvation tomorrow very simply if they would just
let us have access to people there.”</p>
<p>But on Saturday, the United States military and Jordan dropped
supplies along Gaza’s coast, supposedly to alleviate the rapidly
worsening famine.
</p>
This comes after the <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/uk-and-jordan-drop-life-saving-aid-gaza-hospital">United Kingdom</a>, France, <a href="https://jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-netherlands-airdrop-aid-war-torn-gaza">the Netherlands</a>, the <a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/uae-egypt-begin-humanitarian-airdrop-operation-in-northern-gaza/3151688">United Arab Emirates and even Egypt</a> – all staunch allies of Israel – have already taken part in similar stunts, often facilitated by Jordan.
<p>US Central Command – or CENTCOM – <a href="https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3693259/uscentcom-royal-jordanian-air-force-conduct-combined-humanitarian-aid-airdrops/">said</a>
Saturday’s airdrops of “over 38,000 meals” contribute “to ongoing US
government efforts to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to the
people in Gaza.”</p>
<p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-un-humanitarian-famine-gaza-malnutrition-cf622f843fe531fb6dbd5657a39d6b49">According</a>
to the UN, 576,000 people in Gaza – a quarter of the population – “are
one step away from famine” and the entire population is in desperate
need of food.</p>
<h2>Israel blocks thousands of aid trucks</h2>
<p>Meanwhile, satellite imagery shows <a href="https://www.newarab.com/news/satellite-footage-shows-gaza-aid-convoys-waiting-egypt">thousands of aid trucks</a>
stuck at the Rafah crossing with Egypt, unable to enter Gaza because
Israel won’t allow them in and Washington refuses to use any of its
enormous leverage to compel Tel Aviv to do so, or to end its siege on
Gaza.</p>
<p>That makes Egypt’s participation in these airdrops even more bizarre,
since Egypt controls the Rafah land border with Gaza, but refuses to
exercise its sovereignty and control there.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Israel continues to murder and maim hundreds of people every day with US-made bombs and missiles, including <a href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/palestinians-seeking-food-aid-killed-israel-starves-gaza">while they are desperately queuing for or seeking food</a>.
</p>
Since October, the Biden administration has given Israel carte blanche to carry out its genocide and <a href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/israel-cuts-food-water-millions-palestinians-it-calls-human-animals">deliberate</a> starvation in Gaza with total impunity, near-constant <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-14/pentagon-is-quietly-sending-israel-ammunition-laser-guided-missiles">delivery</a> of <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/u-s-sends-israel-2-000-pound-bunker-buster-bombs-for-gaza-war-82898638">weaponry</a>, even <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/30/biden-administration-bypasses-congress-on-weapon-sales-to-israel#:~:text=US%20Secretary%20of%20State%20Antony,State%20Department%20said%20on%20Friday.">bypassing</a> Congress to greenlight arms deliveries to Israel.
<h2>Dramatic stunts coordinated with Israel</h2>
<p>Jordan has been airdropping supplies into Gaza <a href="https://twitter.com/BarakRavid/status/1721314579437715906">since November</a>.</p>
<p>Jordan’s King Abdullah has participated in some of the airdrops as
seen in a dramatic, two-minute clip published by the Jordanian Royal
Court.
</p>
The video, reminiscent of a trailer for a Hollywood action movie, shows
the monarch commanding an operation to drop packages via parachute.
<p>These airdrops are <a href="https://twitter.com/BarakRavid/status/1721314579437715906">coordinated with Israel</a>, since no aircraft can enter the airspace over Gaza without <a href="https://twitter.com/BarakRavid/status/1721314579437715906">explicit Israeli permission</a> or they risk being shot down.</p>
<p>Tel Aviv knows that in practical terms these drops will not
substantially interfere with its policy of deliberately starving
Palestinians to death, but it is happy with the propaganda imagery
falsely suggesting that people in Gaza are receiving significant
assistance.</p>
<p>“An airdrop operation successfully delivered 160 packages of food and
medical supplies to residents of southern Gaza and to the Jordanian
field hospital in Khan Yunis,” COGAT, the bureaucratic arm of Israel’s
military occupation, bragged on Wednesday.
</p>
<h2>Washington could stop the starvation</h2>
<p>Before the airdrops on Saturday, four unnamed US officials <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/02/28/biden-airdrop-aid-gaza-israel">told</a> media outlet <em>Axios</em>
that Washington was considering the move “as deliveries by land become
increasingly difficult” – as if some kind of natural force was causing
the problem.</p>
<p>In reality, Israeli leaders know that without Washington’s supply of
weapons, they would have to halt their genocide in a matter of days.</p>
<p>So if the Biden administration had any real intention of ending the famine and extermination campaign, it would <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-12-15/ty-article/.premium/reliance-on-u-s-weapons-forces-netanyahu-to-accept-bidens-war-requests/0000018c-6d45-dbd5-a39c-ff7706f50000">use its leverage</a> to command Israel to allow the aid trucks in immediately and to stop the bombing.
</p>
In addition to preventing all but a handful of aid trucks from entering Gaza, Tel Aviv is allowing <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-protesters-set-tents-block-humanitarian-aid-entering-gaza#:~:text=News%20%7C-,War%20on%20Gaza%3A%20Israeli%20activists%20set%20up%20tents%20to,humanitarian%20aid%20from%20reaching%20Gaza&text=Israeli%20protesters%20have%20once%20again,famine%2C%20according%20to%20the%20UN.">mobs of Zionist fanatics</a> to stage rallies blocking aid trucks carrying vital supplies from entering Gaza.
<p>These genocidal racists are encamped in tents and enjoy the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/02/10/gaza-aid-blockade-protest-kerem-shalom/">protection</a> of the Israeli army. They are even <a href="https://twitter.com/andreas_krieg/status/1757074771303452843">hosting outdoor dance parties</a>.</p>
<h2>“Undignified and demeaning”</h2>
<p>International aid agencies and even a former US official dismiss the airdrops as ineffective and even counterproductive.</p>
<p>“Oxfam does not support US airdrops to Gaza, which would mostly serve
to relieve the guilty consciences of senior US officials whose policies
are contributing to the ongoing atrocities and risk of famine in Gaza,”
said Scott Paul, an official with the UK-based charity.
</p>
“While Palestinians in Gaza have been pushed to the absolute brink,
dropping a paltry, symbolic amount of aid into Gaza with no plan for its
safe distribution would not help and be deeply degrading to
Palestinians,” Paul added.
<p>“Instead of indiscriminate airdrops in Gaza, the US should cut the
flow of weapons to Israel that are used in indiscriminate attacks, push
for an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages, and insist that
Israel uphold its duty to provide humanitarian aid, access, and other
basic services.”</p>
<p>“Air drops are inefficient, expensive, dangerous and only helpful when there are no other delivery options,” <a href="https://twitter.com/Dave_Harden/status/1763557149639123341">said</a> David Harden, a former official with USAID, the US international development agency.</p>
<p>“Air drops are primarily for the Biden administration’s benefit — to paper over a massive policy failure.”
</p>
<h2>Aid falls in sea, Israel</h2>
<p>In recent days, thousands of Palestinians gathered on a beach in central Gaza as <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/gaza-thousands-of-palestinians-gather-on-the-beach-as-france-and-jordan-airdrop-aid-supplies/videoshow/108102634.cms">Jordan and France</a> dropped supplies, some of which fell into the sea.</p>
<p>Palestinians ran into the <a href="https://www.ceam.es/ceamet/SST/SST-latest.html">cold water</a> to try to retrieve some of it.</p>
<p>A few days later, the Jordanian air force <a href="https://twitter.com/AJArabic/status/1763157818213900365">accidentally</a> <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/gaza-aid-airdropped-by-jordan-accidentally-landed-in-israeli-territory-idf/">dropped packages</a> into southern Israel instead of northern Gaza.</p>
<p>Even when supplies do land in Gaza, those lucky enough to get their
hands on some may sell them at high prices amid desperate shortages, in
what one Palestinian from Gaza <a href="https://twitter.com/shawajason/status/1762578539205759122?s=20">called</a> “an undignified and demeaning process that is hurtful to those truly in need.”
</p>
<h2>Cover for complicity in genocide</h2>
<p>For Jordan and other regional states, these stunts are likely
intended for domestic consumption, an effort to pacify public rage over
their governments’ inaction to stop a genocide that is about to enter
its sixth month.</p>
<p>Jordan has even involved an Instagram influencer, an <a href="https://www.instagram.com/almamlakatven/reel/C0YjsmJs3Lt/">American filmmaker</a> and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/03/01/1235277071/gaza-jordan-airdrop-aid">invited US radio network NPR</a> along on one of the airdrops.
</p>
But there is no sign the population has been placated, as Jordanians <a href="https://twitter.com/RassdNewsN/status/1761007450721759596">continue to demonstrate</a> and call an end to Jordanian trade with Israel, including the <a href="https://arabic.rt.com/business/1526914-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%AA%D8%AF%D9%81%D9%82-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%A5%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84-%D8%A8%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B6%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%8A-%D9%88%D8%AC%D9%87%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%A7-%D8%B7%D9%88%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%82%D8%B5%D9%89-%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9/">supply of agricultural produce</a>.
<p>The United Kingdom, which has consistently <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/david-cameron-gaza-ceasefire-israel-palestine-war-s50x2kscw">opposed</a> an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, also <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/citing-desperate-situation-uk-and-jordan-airdrop-supplies-to-north-gaza-hospital/">participated</a> in one such airdrop operation in collaboration with Jordan.
</p>
France, although it has <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67740979">called for an immediate ceasefire</a>, remains a staunch backer of Israel and is <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20240222-france-under-pressure-to-suspend-military-sales-to-israel-as-war-in-gaza-grinds-on">resisting calls</a> to halt arms exports to Israel.
<p>Canada, an implacable enemy of Palestinian rights, and <a href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora-barrows-friedman/canadas-arms-exports-israel-skyrocket">another arms supplier</a> to Tel Aviv, is also <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-airdrop-aid-gaza-1.7128983">set to airdrop</a> aid into Gaza, possibly also in collaboration with Jordan.</p>
<p>And just as egregiously, the Netherlands, which supplies spare parts for Israeli warplanes as they bomb Palestinians, also <a href="https://jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-netherlands-airdrop-aid-war-torn-gaza">took part</a> in an aid airdrop with Jordan last month.</p>
<p>Although a Dutch <a href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/court-orders-netherlands-stop-sending-warplane-parts-israel">court ordered</a>
a halt to the exports of spare parts to Israel, the government,
determined to continue assisting the genocide, has vowed to appeal the
decision.</p>
<p>By facilitating airdrops on behalf of such countries, Jordan is effectively helping them whitewash their role in the genocide.
</p>
Now, the United States, the country most responsible for the genocide
alongside Israel, wants a piece of the action. Some see this as a sign
of Washington’s weakness. But this is a mistake.
<p>“I’ve seen Israel humiliate previous US administrations, but aside
from murderous 1967 Israeli airstrike against US navy ship Liberty, now
forcing [the United States] to do airdrops of aid to Gaza as if [the
United States] is no better than Egypt and Jordan is Israel’s worst
humiliation of [the United States] I’ve ever seen,” Robert Ford, a
former US diplomat, <a href="https://twitter.com/fordrs58/status/1763649504018841699">wrote</a> on X, formerly known as Twitter.</p>
<p>“I should add that [the United States] will do humanitarian aid
airdrops to Gazans if the Israeli air force graciously agrees not to
shoot down the American planes over Gaza.”</p>
<p>That sentiment may be understandable, but it turns reality on its
head: Washington is in control. Washington wants the genocide to
continue. It just wants to pretend that it is aiding Palestinians while
it helps Israel murder them.</p>
<p>Washington clearly sees the airdrops as means to that end.</p><br>
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