The Biden administration announced this week that it plans to resume humanitarian aid drops into Gaza amid reports that a large-scale famine is looming. However, critics have said that the airdropped crates from large military transport planes are dangerous given the cramped and desperate conditions on the ground below.
So far the Pentagon has delivered at least 17 airdrops of nearly 500,000 meals, but the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry has said that just on Monday alone, 18 people died trying to desperately access the aid, much of which landed in the sea.
Airdropping supplies just off the coast is an apparent safety precaution, after earlier this month Palestinian civilians died after apparently being impacted by falling crates amid parachute failure.
But 12 of the deceased drowned on Monday while trying to access the aid, which landed in the Mediterranean. “The aid airdrops pose a real threat to the lives of hungry Palestinians,” Gaza’s government media office warned. Others reportedly perished during stampedes as the aid arrived on land.
The statement further described that some of the recent aid has fallen into active war zones, which presents the risk of hungry civilians getting caught in the crossfire trying to reach it. “This all puts the lives of people in real danger,” the office added.
Initially, only Jordan was engaged in airdrops, which were later joined by the US military. Since then and into this week, the countries of Germany, Britain, Egypt, Singapore, and UAE have joined and cooperated on airdrops.