On a Jordanian aid airdrop flight over Gaza City

Airdrop aid into Gaza (Al Jazeera)

Niels Adler - Gaza Skies

In the early morning light, a huge military cargo plane sits on the runway of a Royal Jordanian Air Force base. Two maintenance engineers open a compartment in the fuselage and hide behind a metal cover protecting a complex array of wires. The two men, who graduated from the military academy together five years ago, speak with warm familiarity as they carry out pre-flight checks.

Two Jordanian cargo planes are scheduled to airdrop aid over Gaza at around midday (Monday), followed by four other planes from Germany, Egypt and the United States. They are working on a US C-130 Hercules turboprop aircraft, a model often used to airdrop troops, equipment or aid into hard-to-reach locations.

The two men took one last look at the belly of the plane, where the loading dock was firmly attached. There are 16 large pallets filled with essential supplies in the plane's cargo hold, looking fully equipped.

Two Jordanian cargo planes are scheduled to take off to drop aid over Gaza at midday on Monday (Al Jazeera)

Scrutiny

A group of military vehicles arrives at the runway and several special forces personnel wearing distinctive red berets exit, checking the parachutes attached to the day's payload. Groups of employees take turns, each time one team completes its inspection, another team comes in to perform another inspection. Everyone looks stern, sometimes engaging in light banter before returning to work. This is a personal mission for these Jordanian officers, who feel that their identity is deeply intertwined with that of their Palestinian neighbors and want to ensure that the mission goes without a hitch.

“The Palestinians in the Gaza Strip do not deserve what is happening to them,” says M.A., a 24-year-old young man who can reveal only his initials due to security protocol. Looking at the ground, MA adds, “The Palestinians are our brothers. Watching the news and seeing people in Gaza trying to find enough food and survive the constant bombing, with children and families being killed en masse breaks the heart into a million pieces.”

The huge plane provides shade from the morning sun for early arriving teams. M.A.'s colleague begins to carefully explain their role, which he says includes lifting the plane for maintenance and checking all the wheels. MA prefers to keep things within conditions, saying that engineers keep everything working from “the smallest bolt to the biggest wings.” Patting the fuselage, he says his work is complete for now.

In the baggage hold, 6 commandos walk through large pallets, securely wrapped in polythene sheets with cardboard boxes containing dry food packages and milk packages. A Special Forces officer pulls the parachute straps for each pallet.

The Special Forces are in charge of the parachutes, so he takes his time pulling each strap. Parachutes are vital to any aid drop, as these heavy platforms fall from great heights and are deadly if nothing slows them down, as happened in early March when five people were killed and several others injured in the Beach refugee camp after an airdrop parachute failed to work. .

When he reached the 16th box, he tapped the last parachute approvingly: “This is from the United Kingdom, it is good,” then got off the plane and jumped into a transport vehicle.

Launch preparations

Finally, it was time to go, the doors were closed, and the engines were running to ensure they were ready for the mission. The non-essential ground crew dons their sunglasses and retreats to the hangar as giant propeller blades kick up sand. Everything became clear and the plane rolled onto the runway, and soon the skyline of Amman receded through the windows. The city's mountainous outskirts, dotted with tan apartment buildings and green-walled parks, disappear behind a blanket of low, light clouds.

A Royal Jordanian Air Force plane at a military base outside Amman (Al Jazeera)

The engine noise drowns out any other noise, and 3 loadmasters have to communicate with the pilots via headsets. Everyone is focused, two employees keeping their eyes fixed on the windows.

Through the clouds, northern Israel is visible, with which airdrops are coordinated and which approves planes crossing its airspace. The plane flies over Tel Aviv and the Mediterranean Sea before making a sharp turn, flying parallel to the coast as it heads toward the Gaza Strip.

Two SEALs stand at the back of the plane, shifting their weight from one foot to the other as the plane rises and descends through light turbulence. They buckle themselves before their colleagues come to double check that everything and everyone is securely fastened inside the plane.

The plane shakes when it hits turbulence, and everyone reaches for something to grab. The loadmaster gave a thumbs-up sign, just in time for the plane to turn sharply toward the sandy beaches of Gaza. So far, no one has a specific location where the drop will take place, but it's clearly close.

Two special forces personnel stand next to the platforms as the two-minute signal cuts out and the nose of the plane descends sharply to reveal a view of the skyline of destroyed Gaza City from the windows. The cargo door opens, causing everyone to stare at the horizon as bright sunlight streams in.

The pilot pulls the nose of the plane up, the horizon disappears from view, and Gaza City suddenly appears through the open door at the back of the plane. The loadmaster gave a thumbs-up to release a row of eight boxes of ropes holding them down, and gravity pulled them over their tracks and falling from the plane, then the parachutes flashed pink and blue and quickly receded in midair. Another thumbs up from the loadmaster and the second batch is released. For a few solemn moments, no one moved as the umbrellas, now mere specks, appeared to land near the shore. Everyone looks silently at Gaza City.

Pictures of the destruction from the air

Residential buildings are in ruins, and large areas of the city appear almost completely destroyed. When the plane levels off, the view of the city gives way to the Gaza countryside, which is equally suffering from severe devastation caused by the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza. The hatch closes and the plane heads back the way it came.

The contrast between the battle-torn landscape and the relatively flat fields defines where Gaza ends and southern Israel begins, which can be seen from the windows.

The crew began to relax at the back of the plane, visibly relieved that things had gone off without a hitch. The Special Forces personnel remove their belts and meet to discuss how the mission will proceed.

A member of the Jordanian Special Forces inspects the parachutes before the flight begins (Al Jazeera)

The loadmaster sleeps exhausted against the wall of the plane. He was one of the people who loaded the plane the night before and performed several safety checks at dawn. He wakes up and walks past stacks of untouched water bottles, as most service staff fast during the holy month of Ramadan. He takes off his headphones, takes out his phone, and opens the messages he received several hours ago.

He looked calm, nodding slowly to his colleagues who wondered if it was safe to walk through the now empty cargo area. About half an hour later, the plane landed at the air base, and its engines stopped.

It performed numerous maneuvers in tightly restricted airspace within an hour and a half. This was a complex operation that required rigorous planning, multiple security checks, and sensitive coordination between several countries. This had a negative impact on the crew, who appeared clearly exhausted.

Air aid is insufficient

MA, like many of his colleagues, says that although he is proud to participate in these missions, the aid delivered is far from sufficient. Aid agencies have criticized airdrops as an expensive and ineffective way to deliver aid.

The northern part of Gaza could already be facing famine, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative. Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said on Monday that famine was "imminent" in the northern Gaza Strip.

“There is an easier and cheaper way to bring much-needed supplies into the Gaza Strip... and that is by land, including sending more trucks from Israel to the Gaza Strip,” Juliette Touma, UNRWA’s director of communications, told Al Jazeera on Friday.

M.A. says, “The amount of aid that can be delivered through the territories will be much greater.” He adds, “It is our duty to deliver this aid to the Palestinians, but it is not enough.”

Source: Al Jazeera