Biden's new port plan won't bring relief to Gaza: Economist
4 Min Read
The US has so far airdropped a total of 192 packages containing 112,896 meals to Gaza, which represents one meal per six days for 5% of Gazans.
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Palestinian crowds struggle to buy bread from a bakery in Rafah on February 18, 2024. (AP)
According to The Economist, US President Joe Biden announced on Friday, during his State of the Union, address that he has directed his military to lead a mission that will establish a temporary pier that will bring humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
"Tonight, I’m directing the US military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the Gaza coast that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine, and temporary shelters," he said during his speech.
"No US boots will be on the ground," Biden claimed.
He added that the temporary pier would enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza but stressed that "Israel" must play its part in the process for it to be successful.
Earlier, a senior Biden administration official said the temporary port will feature a pier that will "provide the capacity for hundreds of additional truckloads of assistance each day."
According to the official, the shipments will be screened by the US and partners in European Union member Cyprus.
The people of Gaza are facing dire shortages of food, water, and medicine, with the United Nations warning of the risk of famine. The entire population of 2.2 million is in crisis or worse levels of food insecurity, according to the World Food Program (WFP).
The WFP reported that Gaza requires at least 300 vehicles each day to transport food, medicine, and other necessities. Shipments via Gaza's two operational land border posts—the Rafah crossing with Egypt and the Karam Salem crossing with "Israel"—fall significantly short.
The US has so far airdropped a total of 192 packages containing 112,896 meals to Gaza. The figure, according to The Economist, only represents one meal per six days for 5% of Palestinians, this is provided that all pallets arrived undamaged.
In addition, the challenge is not only getting the supplies into the Strip but distributing them around the territory, knowing that trucks and stores were attacked and Israeli tanks tore up the roads.
The Government Media Office in Gaza called for the immediate and urgent opening of land crossings to allow thousands of tons of aid to enter, in order to prevent the deepening famine crisis in the Gaza Strip, especially in the north.
Commenting on the casualties resulting from the random air drops of aid, which led to the killing of 5 people and injury of several others, the office reiterated that such operations are not effective and are not the optimal way to deliver aid.
Five Palestinians, including two children, were killed on Friday due to an aid airdrop mishap, where at least one parachute malfunctioned, causing a package to fall on them. The tragic incident occurred in the al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza at approximately 11:30 am local time.
Shocking…
— Younis Tirawi | يونس (@ytirawi) March 8, 2024
Documentation by my colleague [@Hakeam_ps] reveals that an airdrop mission was done in a wrong way. A number of Palestinians (5) including 2 children were killed as the airdrop fell on their heads.
Parachutes didn’t open & descended very quickly over them pic.twitter.com/tV9SP3Tit0
Airdrops of humanitarian aid to Gaza may not be necessary if pressure on the Israeli occupation was effective, Patrick Wintour of The Guardian reported.
According to The Economist, Biden refuses to utilize America's clout to push "Israel" to let additional supplies into Gaza. Now, after enabling "Israel's" behavior for months, he is seeking ways to free it of accountability.
The UN Relief and Works Agency is also concerned with the distribution of help once it arrives on the ground. Chris Doyle, executive director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, believes the decision of the US to airdrop aid is a sign of "America's ineffectiveness".
Doyle notes that airdrops are considered dangerous and not enough, emphasizing that the US is only doing so since it "cannot persuade Israel to allow aid into Gaza by land and in trucks. It is the ultimate sign of weakness and shows the US is unwilling to stand up to Israel.”
According to Politico, the airdrops expose Biden's very limited approach with "Israel" since the US usually delivers airdrops to areas that are occupied by "terrorist groups or hostile regimes, not allies."
