Jordan, UAE Drop Gaza Aid Amid Israel Pause: Can It End Hunger?
By : Krishna Mishra
Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) began air-dropping aid into the Gaza Strip as Israel announced it would halt military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of the region and allow in air corridors.
This was after visuals of starving Gazans alarmed the whole world. The Benjamin Netanyahu-led government has been facing constant backlash on the international level for the "man-made" famine in Gaza.
As per the BBC, dozens of empty trucks were seen heading in convoys toward three different locations: Zikim crossing in northern Gaza, Kissufim crossing in central Gaza, and the Kerem Shalom crossing in the far south-east of the Strip.
However, the air drops of aid might not be the solution to the issue, as the cargo planes used to drop the aid are not capable enough to carry enough amount of humanitarian aid needed in the strip. As per the official figures released by US Central Command, each C-130 cargo plane carried about 12,500 "meals" per trip. So in order to send meals for each of Gaza's approximately two million population, around 160 flights would be needed in a single day.