President Joe Biden has announced that the U.S. military will conduct an aid drop into the Gaza Strip. Even if only at the margin, this action will help alleviate suffering on the part of Palestinian civilians. It will also send a signal to our Arab allies that the United States is concerned about the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
That crisis is real.
While accurate statistics are difficult to establish due to the influence of Hamas over aid organizations, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is unquestionably dire. Child and adult malnutrition rates are soaring, and medical supply shortages are systemic. The challenges with getting aid to Gazan civilians are significant. Hamas maintains extensive control over aid provisions via a mix of direct force, proxies in aid distribution organizations, and base intimidation. The terrorist group also withholds significant aid and power supplies for its own usage. At the same time, Israeli inspection regimes for aid convoys entering Gaza appear designed to make aid flows more difficult.
While aid drops have previously been conducted by Egyptian, Emirati, and Jordanian aircraft, no U.S. military aid drops have yet occurred. The inclusion of U.S. military aircraft is important for three reasons.
First, this is because the U.S. military has the closest links with the Israel Defense Forces of any military. The U.S. is thus best placed to drop aid most easily into Gaza where it is needed most. Second, it is important because this aid drop will be a symbolic and physical show of recognition to close U.S. allies in the Middle East, particularly Jordan and Saudi Arabia, that the U.S. is concerned about Gazan civilian suffering. Both Amman and Riyadh are critically important U.S. allies for various reasons.
Finally, as Israel prepares to launch an inevitably bloody military offensive into the Egypt-bordering Rafah area of Gaza, it is crucial that aid flows increase to stave off terrible hardship.
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Top line: This aid drop is unlikely to have a significant impact on Gaza’s suffering. But at the humanitarian margin, it will help. And it will help boost America’s standing with its allies.