Israel’s aid shipments by air to Gaza are an ineffective sham maneuver that prevents real aid from reaching those in need. This is the view of Johan von Schreeb, professor of disaster medicine, after the Israeli military, IDF, initiated daily “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting.
The Israeli military has been conducting daily ceasefires since Sunday between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. in densely populated parts of Gaza, including Al-Mawasi, Deir al-Balah and Gaza City. In connection with the pauses, the IDF has dropped aid supplies from the air, containing flour, sugar and canned goods.
But von Schreeb is critical of the method.
— We know that it is extremely ineffective, it is ten times more expensive than bringing in food by road. In this case, in Gaza where there is infrastructure even though much is destroyed, it is simply poor and likely a strategy to ensure that less food gets in, he says.
Risky distribution
The professor also warns that the airborne aid could end up in the wrong hands or cause additional dangers for the civilian population.
— They could end up with those who have Kalashnikovs who can drive away the rest of the civilian population and instead sell the food, says von Schreeb.
According to the expert, the UN system has 6,000 trucks ready in Jordan and Egypt, but the borders to Gaza remain closed. Since the UN agency UNRWA was effectively banned from operating in Israel, the Israeli-American organization Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has taken over food distributions – with deadly consequences. Over 1,000 people are reported to have been killed or died during the organization’s distributions.
