President Joe Biden announced the United States will provide additional food and supplies for Palestinians in Gaza by conducting airdrops to counter the dire humanitarian situation there. The United States is also working to find ways to open a maritime corridor as an additional pathway for assistance. “Innocent lives are on the line,” President Biden said. “We’re … trying to pull out every stop we can to get more assistance in.”
On March 2, the United States made its first humanitarian assistance airdrop into Gaza in a joint operation with Jordan. Three U.S. Air Force cargo planes dropped 66 pallets that held 38,000 ready-to-eat meals.
National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said that the first airdrop is intended to be part of a sustained effort. He emphasized that airdrops will supplement - not replace - delivery on the ground. While airdrops have the advantage of speed, he pointed out that military aircraft “cannot replicate the size and scale and scope of a convoy of 20 or 30 trucks.”
With $180 million dollars of assistance, the United States is the largest provider of aid to the people of Gaza and the West Bank since the onset of the conflict October 7, when Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and took more than 240 people hostage. In response, the Israeli military has gone into Gaza to destroy Hamas. Thousands of Palestinians have been killed, and famine is looming.
At a briefing, a U.S. official stated that the problem with humanitarian assistance reaching the people of Gaza is distribution, exacerbated by the actions of criminal gangs “taking it, looting it, reselling it.” The way to solve the problem, the official said, is to “flood the market … Bring in assistance from every point you can … Demonetize these commodities.”
Advisor Kirby noted that the desperation of the people of Gaza, made tragically manifest days ago when scores were killed rushing a convoy of aid trucks, underscores the terrible need for more aid.
It is also why the United States is working so hard on a deal between Israel and Hamas that would trigger a six-week ceasefire. Such a deal would allow a surge in the flow of aid, the release of hostages, and a reduction in violence. As State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said, “A deal is on the table … Hamas should accept it immediately.”
