Hundreds of Residents Scramble to Obtain Relief Supplies
"Rushing to Get Severely Insufficient Relief Supplies"
Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip are suffering from severe food shortages, and the international community is resorting to "last resort" measures such as air-dropping relief supplies to help them.
On the 27th (local time), the US daily New York Times (NYT) reported that Jordanian military authorities, along with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, and France, conducted an air-drop operation of relief supplies over the coastal area of the Gaza Strip. This marks the first time since the outbreak of war last October that Egypt and the UAE have participated in an air relief operation for Gaza.
Since November last year, Jordan has been conducting air-drop operations to deliver medical supplies and other relief goods to the Gaza Strip. As Israeli military checkpoints and controls made it difficult for relief trucks to enter Gaza, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom also joined the air-drop efforts starting this year.
Residents of Gaza crowding to obtain relief supplies dropped into the sea. [Image source=AlaaFayyad13 X account]
Relief organizations consider air-dropping supplies as a last resort. Air transport is much more costly compared to delivering by truck over land, and flying aircraft over conflict zones is extremely dangerous. Additionally, there is a risk that parachutes carrying relief supplies may fall incorrectly and collide with people on the ground.
Despite these adverse conditions, France, which has taken part in the air relief efforts, stated that due to the urgent situation in Gaza, it is accelerating the air-drop operations together with Jordan. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement the previous day expressing concern that "the number of civilians dying from famine and disease in the Gaza Strip continues to rise."
On January 18th (local time), a child with a bandaged head is crying in front of the rubble of a building collapsed due to an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Palestine. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Meanwhile, videos were posted on social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) showing relief supplies descending by parachute into the sea near Deir al-Balah, a city in central Gaza. Citizens flocked to the beach to obtain the supplies. Some even took small boats out to the sea to retrieve the relief goods.
A university student, Ala Fayyad, who uploaded the video to NYT, said that the amount of relief supplies dropped that day was not very large and added, "It was heartbreaking to see people I know rushing to get an insufficient amount of relief supplies."
On the other hand, a recent warning from a United Nations agency indicated that one-quarter of Gaza's population is facing a famine crisis. Ramesh Rajasingham, coordinator of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), appeared before the UN Security Council on the 27th and pointed out that at least 566,000 people in Gaza are on the brink of starvation.
He further stated that one in six children under the age of two in northern Gaza is suffering from severe malnutrition, and the entire Palestinian population of 2.3 million is dependent on food supplies that are distressingly insufficient.
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