President Joe Biden decided to spring into March with an unexpected announcement. Speaking in the Oval Office, Biden minced no words with his decision. “We are going to join with our friends from Jordan and others to provide airdrops of supplies into Ukraine.” Stuttering to himself for a few, the press pool claims he later corrected himself to say Gaza.
In his words, the current levels of aid reaching Gaza are not enough to sustain the Palestinian people. Much of the food, water, and medical supplies sent to the people are being redirected by Hamas back into their fold. Surprisingly enough, the administration did not hesitate to admit that their airdrops were unlikely to make much difference to improve the situation.
According to the Wall Street Journal, each airdrop would successfully deliver between one and four truckloads worth of food, water, and medical services. By contrast, 250 trucks are being sent into Gaza every day. Jordanian King Abdullah II has had Jordanian troops performing airdrops since the conflict started. With nearly 576,000 people estimated to remain in Gaza, these drops and truckloads don’t go very far.
US officials maintain that many of the trucks aren’t reaching the civilians in Gaza. With Palestinian reports that the Israeli troops are looting the trucks before they can arrive, many maintain that the 250 trucks per day figure is artificially inflated. Some reports indicate that the number of trucks reaching Gaza is closer to 75, with 50 of them turning up essentially empty.
A surge in Hamas activities and population indicated that not only are they getting people from other nations, but they are also recruiting the people from Gaza to take up arms for the cause. In this instance, it shouldn’t surprise anyone as tyrants and terrorists have been staring people out to make them join them since WWII.
