(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . "Biden Says U.S. Will Begin Aid Airdrops in Gaza" [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-03-02 According to an article in the New York Times March 1, President Biden has said the United States will work with allies to deliver aid to Gaza by air and by sea. The statement appears to have been a response to violence resulting in many people killed and wounded near an aid convoy in Gaza City on Thursday. The article quotes Biden speaking in Italy on Friday: “Innocent people got caught in a terrible war unable to feed their families, and you saw the response when they tried to get aid in,” Mr. Biden said. “And we need to do more, and the United States will do more.” “Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough now,” Mr. Biden said. “Innocent lives are on the line, and children’s lives are on the line.” The article says the first airdrops will focus on food, followed by water and medicine. The Air Force plans to drop 50,000 meal rations. The Biden administration has been considering airdrops for some time, but so far has chosen not to in part because of the logistical challenges of dropping aid into a dense war zone. John F. Kirby, a senior National Security Council official, said that the chaos on Thursday had underscored the need to “find more creative ways of getting assistance in faster and at a greater scale.” The article continues: “The deaths around the convoy may prove to be something of an inflection point, prodding the White House to put greater pressure on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid in.” Mr. Kirby said that the deaths show the need for Hamas and Israel to agree to a cease-fire and release the hostages held in Gaza. A pause in Israel’s military operations would allow more humanitarian aid to move into the territory more quickly, he said. The U.S. airdrops should begin in the coming days. Mr. Kirby said that planning for the airdrops was far more developed, and that the operation could speed aid more quickly than by bringing in supplies via the Gaza coastline. The operation would likely involve military aircraft. In addition, as there are limits to what can be brought in by military cargo planes, the U.S. has asked Israel to open more border crossings in eastern Gaza. The U.S. is also looking into creating a temporary port so aid can be brought in by sea. Creating a temporary port could bring in more aid, but setting up such a facility in a secure way presents a challenge. The United States would not use American troops to build the temporary facility, or use American amphibious landing craft. “It will be a supplement to, not a replacement for, moving things in by ground,” Mr.Kirby said. “This isn’t about replacing trucks.” The article points out that airdrops are “an imperfect and expensive way to deliver food and medicine.” Even big military cargo planes can carry only a fraction of the supplies that a truck convoy can carry. In addition, aid dropped on the ground is difficult to secure and distribute in an orderly way. The U.S. is hoping that U.N. relief agency workers can distribute the aid to civilians. Airdrops have already proved helpful in Gaza and other places: Egypt, Jordan, France and the United Arab Emirates have already participated in aid airdrops to Gaza. The United States regularly dropped supplies by air in Afghanistan and used airdrops for humanitarian relief operations elsewhere in the past. In a Washington Post article about the Jordanian air force dropping 33 tons of medical supplies, food and other necessities on Gaza on Feb. 29, an American official says the U.S. is also considering deploying a hospital ship or aid ship “among other options as we work to try to increase humanitarian aid flows into Gaza.” UPDATE: [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/3/2/2227008/--Biden-Says-U-S-Will-Begin-Aid-Airdrops-in-Gaza?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/