Part of an airdrop of aid on the Gaza Strip (Reuters)
The US Army is scheduled to begin carrying out air drops of food and supplies into the Gaza Strip in the coming days, joining other countries, such as France, Jordan, and Egypt, that have done the same.
Yesterday, Friday, US President Joe Biden announced that the United States would carry out an airdrop of food aid to Gaza, at a time when hunger is worsening and claiming the lives of more residents of the Palestinian Strip.
For his part, Strategic Communications Coordinator for the US National Security Council, John Kirby, said that his country will carry out air drops of aid in coordination with its partners - especially Jordan - within days, adding that air drops of aid are not an alternative to delivering it by land.
The United Nations warns that the Gaza Strip is on the brink of famine, while the authorities in Gaza and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) have confirmed the death of at least 13 Palestinian children in the Gaza and northern governorates due to malnutrition and hunger.
How will the airdrop of aid work?
The United States will use military aircraft to drop supplies over Gaza, and although it is unclear what type of aircraft will be used, C-17s and C-130s are best suited for this mission.
Soldiers on the ground load supplies onto racks, which are then loaded onto planes and secured in place.
Once the aircraft is over the area where supplies are needed, the lock holding the racks in place is released and they are lowered to the ground with the help of a parachute attached to the racking platform.
What are the risks?
While the military can monitor weather patterns in advance, wind plays a big role in ensuring racking platforms land where they should.
Video clips on social media showed some aid provided by other countries ending up at sea.
Gaza is densely populated, and officials say it will be difficult to ensure that aid reaches the people who need it and does not end up in an inaccessible place.
For his part, Kirby says, "It is very difficult to conduct an airdrop in a crowded environment like Gaza."
Officials also say that without a US military presence on the ground, there is no guarantee that aid will not end up in the hands of Hamas.
What are some examples of previous US airdrops?
Every year during Christmas, the United States drops humanitarian aid to remote islands in the Pacific Ocean, in an effort known as "Operation Christmas Drop."
In 2014, the US military dropped air aid into northern Iraq, when ISIS fighters besieged civilians. In those few months, more than 100,000 meals and 96,000 bottles of water were airdropped.
What options are being considered?
President Biden told reporters - yesterday, Friday - that the United States is also studying the possibility of opening a sea corridor to deliver large amounts of aid to Gaza.
A US official said that one possible option is to ship aid by sea from Cyprus, about 210 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza on the Mediterranean Sea.
The official said that no decision had been made about military participation in such an operation, adding that the Israelis were "very receptive" to the sea bridge option, because it would avoid delays caused by protesters closing land crossings to aid convoys.
But the reality is that the naval option using the army represents a major challenge, with no clear location from which to unload aid from ships.
Source: Al Jazeera + Reuters