The increase in airdrops to Gaza of humanitarian aid is getting more attention in the region. It is an important development that could pave the way for supplying parts of Gaza and not having Hamas hijack and steal the food that is supposed to reach Gazans.It appears Hamas is purposely creating a humanitarian crisis in Rafah, aimed to pressure Israel to stop its operations and enable Hamas to benefit and grow in power again. Hamas uses its control of the border to control distribution of items to local people. And Hamas has partnered with international organizations, offering its police as “protection” for shipments, in essence acting as a mafia contractor in which it benefits.The Israel Defense Forces said on February 28 that “in cooperation among Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, France and the USA: a supply of food and medical equipment that was transferred to the residents of the southern Gaza Strip and the Jordanian field hospital was airdropped.”This is important cooperation. Jordan, France, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and the US are key partners, and the airdrops can help Gazans in various parts of Gaza. So far, the recent airdrops have included 160 packages of food and medical equipment.“The move was carried out in coordination with the International Cooperation Division of the Strategic Planning and Cooperation Directorate (J5), the Coordination and Liaison Administration to Gaza (CLA) of the COGAT Unit, the 98th Division and the IAF,” the IDF said.
Al-Ain media in the UAE has now covered the airdrop and has highlighted the possibility for more airdrops. The US and Israel have been in talks about the “urgent need to bring more humanitarian aid” to Gaza. The US may become more deeply involved in the airdrops. Canada is also working on this possibility.It’s difficult to know whether the UN warnings of “famine” are accurate and also it’s difficult to know whether Hamas is purposely trying to cause more suffering and food shortages in order to exploit the crisis for its own ends. Hamas has historically sought to create suffering in Gaza in order to get things from the international community and bolster its control of Gaza. The key aspect of airdrops is they can target areas of Gaza where Hamas has less control.
Air-dropping supplies could help circumvent Hamas
Hamas has sought to concentrate Gazan civilians around Rafah in order to prevent an IDF operation there. Air-dropping supplies to people has a long history of success.For instance, the World Food Program airdropped food to people in Deir Ezzor in Syria during the Syrian civil war.The WFP notes that in 2016 it “carried out its first-ever high-altitude airdrop, delivering 21 tons of food assistance to the city. Throughout the siege, WFP conducted the world’s highest-ever airdrops. Over 18 months, 309 drops were completed to provide emergency food assistance for over 100,000 people in the city. For families with nothing, it was a lifesaving operation. Nothing went to waste.”Airdrops have been used in other countries as well. Gaza has a population of more than 2 million, so clearly this won’t be the only way to supply Gaza going forward. Other methods and routes may need to be found. However, for now it’s important that this innovative solution has increased and it is important to see partners of Israel abroad and in the region working to increase this method of aid assistance. In the end, relying on Hamas as a mafia broker for aid supplies to Gaza and letting Hamas thuggish “police” control the aid is not a good solution for Gaza’s needy people.