United States President Joe Biden announced on Friday, a day after more than 100 Palestinians were killed while queuing up for food, that the US will begin to drop humanitarian aid in Gaza in the upcoming days.
Biden said the United States could work with Jordan, which has previously completed numerous rounds of airdrops in Gaza. It has not been made clear when the airdrops will take place; however, the first round will definitely not be the last.
As per a report from The New York Times, the US National Security Council officer said that initially, the airdrops will concentrate on providing food, then water and medicine. Many people have suggested that hunger and disease are continuously increasing in Gaza, especially in the northern strip. They also suggest that one-fourth of the population in Gaza will face famine in a short time.
Critics have said that it seems like President Biden has completely given up on persuading Israel to coordinate a mass relief effort in Gaza. While providing aid through airdrops is commendable, it is not an efficient way. The US has been trying to convince Israel to provide generous assistance to the people in Gaza; however, the killing of dozens of Palestinians on Friday made it clear that Israel will not back out. Biden’s aid announcement is just a gesture, as per critics, and a way to conceal the President’s unwillingness to use his power to make Israel more cooperative.
He announced the airdrop aid during a meeting at the White House with Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy. He said,
The loss of life is heartbreaking.
People are so desperate that innocent people got caught in a terrible war unable to feed their families and you saw the response when they tried to get aid in,