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<h1 class="gmail-single_title">Airdropping aid: Humiliation and
risk without relief</h1>
<p class="gmail-single_date">Tuesday 29-July-2025 - <font size="1"><a
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<p>GAZA, (PIC)</p>
<p>As famine in Gaza worsens into an existential threat for more
than two million people, the much-publicized \u201cairdrop
operations\u201d of humanitarian aid appear more like crumbs thrown
from the sky than a lifeline for a population starving under
bombardment and siege.</p>
<p>In separate interviews with the Palestinian Information
Center, several residents of Gaza expressed their anger over
what they described as a humiliating and dangerous method of
delivering aid, stressing that airdrops neither curb hunger
nor preserve dignity. On the contrary, they exacerbate chaos
and pose serious risks.</p>
<p
class="gmail-has-vivid-red-color gmail-has-text-color gmail-has-link-color gmail-wp-elements-a7aad6936eaf445948654fdb2e37fd0a">We
fight over scraps falling from the sky</p>
<p>Walid Al-Masri, a displaced man living in a central Gaza
camp, said, \u201cEvery time aid is dropped from planes, we fight
underneath it, some people run, others fall, and many leave
empty-handed. Is the world satisfied watching us kill each
other for a bag of flour?\u201d</p>
<p>He added, \u201cGaza rejects this form of aid. It is beneath human
dignity and solves nothing, it only deepens the crisis.\u201d</p>
<p
class="gmail-has-vivid-red-color gmail-has-text-color gmail-has-link-color gmail-wp-elements-650f7d204b9e3df20b35fae6dc5caac6">Danger
from every direction</p>
<p>Sami Abdullah, a father of four living in a tent pitched over
the ruins of his home in northern Gaza, warned of the grave
dangers of airdrops, \u201cI saw parachutes fall directly on tents,
one of them landed on an entire family. These aren\u2019t aid
packages, they\u2019re food-wrapped projectiles.\u201d</p>
<p>With sorrow, he added: \u201cWhat kind of logic justifies throwing
food onto the heads of displaced people? Some die under the
aid, not just from hunger.\u201d</p>
<p
class="gmail-has-vivid-red-color gmail-has-text-color gmail-has-link-color gmail-wp-elements-44f01aa3d9b2d363dbd169a7bc008e97">From
the sky to street gangs</p>
<p>Elder Ali Abu Al-Ata also spoke to the Palestinian
Information Center, describing how gangs have begun forming
around airdrop zones, looting supplies before they reach the
needy.</p>
<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve seen it with our own eyes, people blocking the hungry
from reaching the aid. It\u2019s chaos, a complete absence of
organization, and a dangerous lack of the most basic
principles of fair distribution,\u201d he said.</p>
<p>He also pointed out that some airdrops land in totally
destroyed areas where no one can reach them:<br>
\u201cIn Al-Karama neighborhood, parachutes landed on the rubble of
demolished homes. Who would dare go digging through that
wreckage? This is just an air show, it does nothing to change
the reality of the catastrophe.\u201d</p>
<p
class="gmail-has-vivid-red-color gmail-has-text-color gmail-has-link-color gmail-wp-elements-d92fcea38753b96b348aaac679590563">Clear
UN criticism</p>
<p>The UN agency UNRWA has strongly criticized the continued
reliance on airdrops, saying they are no real solution to the
famine and cannot compare to delivering aid via land convoys.</p>
<p>Juliette Touma, UNRWA\u2019s Director of Communications, told The
New York Times, \u201cWhy are we resorting to airdrops when
thousands of trucks loaded with aid are waiting at the border
for permission to enter? Airdrops are costly and ineffective,
they don\u2019t address the root problem.\u201d</p>
<p>She confirmed that over 6,000 UN aid trucks remain stuck at
border crossings, blocked from entry by the Israeli
occupation. She emphasized the only way to save lives is
through, \u201cLifting the siege, opening the crossings, and
guaranteeing safe and dignified passage for humanitarian
convoys.\u201d</p>
<p
class="gmail-has-vivid-red-color gmail-has-text-color gmail-has-link-color gmail-wp-elements-f8b2d73022d6b8627bb44f2c17a5bfb2">UN:
A distraction</p>
<p>UNRWA\u2019s Commissioner-General labeled the airdrops a
\u201cdeliberate distraction\u201d and \u201ca tactic to divert attention
from the real disaster unfolding in the Strip.\u201d He said that
the famine is not caused by a lack of aid, but by the siege
and the obstruction of its delivery.</p>
<p>Recently, the Israeli military announced it would \u201callow\u201d
limited airdrops of aid and implement what it called \u201ctactical
pauses\u201d in some military operations to facilitate relief
access.</p>
<p>But these measures have failed to convince either Gaza\u2019s
residents or international humanitarian organizations. They
are widely seen as efforts to ease growing international
pressure, while the UN continues to warn of the looming threat
of mass death, especially among more than 100,000 children.</p>
<p
class="gmail-has-vivid-red-color gmail-has-text-color gmail-has-link-color gmail-wp-elements-9d79301319a65491e181bd3afa8ea847">A
deepening tragedy</p>
<p>Since the Israeli assault began in October 2023, Gaza has
endured one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in modern
history, marked by total famine, relentless bombing, and
unprecedented levels of displacement.</p>
<p>According to Palestinian health authorities, the war has so
far caused over 204,000 casualties, dead and wounded, most of
them women and children. More than 11,000 remain missing,
while hundreds of thousands live in harsh and degrading
displacement conditions.</p>
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