Jordan and France dropped vital supplies into the sea near Deir al Balah to help Gazans. Men in tiny boats traversed turbulent waters to fetch the help, accompanied by hundreds of people anxious to get the much-needed goods. Three Royal Jordanian Air Force flights and one French jet dropped supplies, including ready-made meals. This attempt underlines the growing urgency of the Gaza humanitarian crisis as relief agencies confront further constraints on conventional supply distribution.
Video showed parachutes falling into the water, highlighting the situation’s despair. Though appreciated, the help was regarded insufficient by witnesses, with a local veterinary student seeing people scurrying for little supplies and feeling sad.
The French jet brought almost two tons of food and hygiene supplies, a fraction of the UN’s urgent needs for Gaza’s two million citizens. It is unknown why some supplies was delivered over the water, which is less efficient and more expensive than land delivery.
Airdrops are inefficient and risky, thus they’re usually last. However, the food crisis and growing impediments to traditional aid delivery have increased calls for internationally coordinated airdrops. The World Food Program halted northern Gaza food supplies due to violence and a “collapse of civil order.”
Jordan began airdrops in November, resupplying Gaza field hospitals with over a dozen sorties. France and Jordan are working together because of the humanitarian crisis. Alternative assistance delivery routes, including Ashdod, Israel, being sought by the partnership.
As the food crisis reaches a critical point, airdrops can quickly deliver crucial supplies to Gaza, despite their limits. Jordan’s airdrops demonstrate the urgency of the humanitarian crisis.
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