Why American air-drops won't solve Gaza's growing humanitarian crisis

The United States delivered its first airdrop of humanitarian aid to Gaza over the weekend, with three Air Force cargo planes offloading 38,000 ready-to-eat meals to the besieged, battered and occupied population.

The airdrop comes after four months of relentless Israeli bombardment which has resulted in over 30,000 deaths and 70,457 injured Palestinians.

US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the delivery is the first step towards the broader American objective of ensuring access to life-saving aid for people in Gaza. But many have been asking, is air-dropping aid an effective way of addressing Gaza’s humanitarian crisis?

The answer is no.

Firstly, this type of delivery is unnecessary given that 2,000 trucks filled with food aid are already waiting at Gaza’s border crossings. The problem is that these trucks are mired in difficulties ranging from multiple screenings to Israeli limitations at access points which the UN considers absolutely necessary to prevent looming threats of famine and disease.

Only 98 trucks per day crossed into Gaza in February 2024, compared to an average of 170 in January 2024 and 500 each day before October 2023. The only other border crossing opened by Israel alongside Rafah is the Karem Abu Salem crossing, but trucks are unable to pass there due to Israeli protesters who are stymying the provision of aid.

Air-dropping limited provisions does not solve this problem.

Operational realities also make air-dropping aid an unsustainable solution. The C-130 aeroplanes used to deliver aid are essentially large military cargo planes which can only carry a portion of supplies, compared to trucks on the border.

The cargo planes also do not move at the same speed that convoys can, and when offloaded, air deliveries are difficult to distribute, oftentimes even landing in the sea. According to Daniel Harden, former USAID Director to the occupied West Bank, air drops by the United States do not have a meaningful humanitarian impact in Gaza and give the strongest instead of the most vulnerable segments of the population the opportunity to control the food.

Air drops of food aid also fail to address the plight of Gazans who along with impending famine are also grappling with poor nutrition and unsafe and insufficient water for cleaning and hygiene purposes.

People in Gaza are dependent on water and sanitation infrastructure, which requires generators and pipes. Such items however have been banned from entering the enclave by Israel, which considers them to be of "dual-use" by fighters for developing weapons.

Israel has used the same logic to stop six mobile units that contain medicine and vaccines from entering Gaza. American air drops of food aid do not compensate for such critical essentials that Israel has banned.

Air-dropped aid is insufficient amid a lack of border access points and Israel’s sustained occupation of Gaza. According to Harden, the exercise is a symbolic gesture designed to appease Biden’s domestic base.

Indeed, domestic pressure is growing, as shown by the 100,000 uncommitted voters who expressed their anger towards Biden's Gaza policy during the 2024 Michigan primary.

Oxfam's head has also dismissed the idea of airdrops, saying the strategy merely relieves the guilty consciences of senior American officials whose policies are contributing to ongoing atrocities and risks of famine in Gaza.

American air drops are also taking place in the absence of any public or overt criticism of Israel’s handling of Gazan aid. Recall that Israel’s curtailment of aid was at the core of South Africa’s genocide case against it at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The ICJ's January 2024 order directed Israel to secure immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian aid. However, Israel has openly flouted the court's directives by attacking an UNRWA convoy in February and massacring 112 Palestinians and wounding 750 others when they gathered to receive food aid in the southwest of Gaza City.

The fact is that American air drops of aid do not prevent the killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces and would not prevent Palestinians from being attacked while seeking aid.

Instead, the Biden administration would be better off pressuring Israel to open more border crossings. Perhaps Biden should also take note of the International Committee of the Red Cross’s statement that airdrops are a poor substitute for humanitarian access and such access is only possible through reopening border crossings.

In light of this, the US strategy of airdropping aid to Gaza is unnecessary, serving only to assuage guilty consciences, and fails to address the humanitarian crisis which is due to sustained Israeli bombardment.