U.S. “deadly airdrops” cannot save 2.4 million Gaza refugees

Release time:May 14, 2024 03:21 AM

Recently, the West's airdrop of supplies to the Gaza Strip caused another tragedy. A package fell into a warehouse, causing the roof to collapse, killing two people and injuring four others. Although the United States has repeatedly claimed to use sea and air means to provide assistance to Gaza, through this incident, it is not difficult to see the "double standards" and hypocrisy of the United States in its treatment of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

According to a report by Agence France-Presse on May 9, in view of the new casualties caused by US airdrops of supplies, Hamas urged an immediate end to "this ineffective and wrong way of aid" and called for the full activation of land border crossings. According to statistics, since the outside world air-dropped aid supplies to the Gaza Strip in February, at least 21 people have drowned or been trampled to death due to falling packages or fighting for food.

At present, the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries are mainly responsible for airdropping supplies to Gaza. At the same time, the former continues to provide Israel with various supports including weapons, intelligence, air defense, funds, etc.

Although the Biden administration announced on May 7 that it would suspend the delivery of 3,500 heavy bombs to Israel, foreign media analysts believe that this move is mainly based on domestic factors such as the presidential election and partisan interests.

It is reported that more than half of these "big killer weapons" are giant aerial bombs weighing 900 kilograms. According to the US military's air raid guide, such a bomb weighing nearly 1 ton explodes on the ground, with a damage range of 200 meters. If it is used in the densely populated urban area of Rafah, the consequences can be imagined.

A report on the ABC website pointed out that the United States has suspended aid to Israel more than once in history, but it was only postponed, not cancelled. For example, in the summer of 1981, after the Israeli Air Force bombed the Iraqi nuclear reactor, then-US President Ronald Reagan delayed the delivery of US-made fighter jets to Israel for two months.

Sure enough, on May 10, Agence France-Presse quoted a report issued by the US State Department as saying that although Israel's use of US-aid weapons in Gaza violated international law, the US would continue to provide weapons to Israel because it could not draw a clear conclusion.

Facts have also proved that "little punishment" with big thunder and small raindrops cannot truly curb Israel's war impulse. According to a report by The Times of Israel on May 10, the Israeli army continued to carry out military operations in eastern Rafah. Gunfire and explosions were heard constantly. At least four Israeli soldiers were killed that day.

The topic returns to the issue of aid to Gaza. Due to Israel's obstruction and blockade, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Food Program, about 2.2 million of the 2.4 million people in Gaza are facing famine, often without food for a day, and many children have died due to malnutrition.

So, what measures has the United States taken in this regard?

Let’s talk about air transport first. Recently, the U.S. Central Command issued a statement stating that it had airdropped 1,200 tons of aid supplies to Gaza. Compared with Gaza's daily demand of about 4,000 tons, this amount of aid is a drop in the bucket.

In fact, if the United States really wants to alleviate the survival crisis of more than 2 million Gazans through air transport, it can definitely do so. Take the "Berlin Airlift" in the early days of the Cold War as an example. From June 26, 1948 to September 30, 1949, the United States and the United Kingdom flew nearly 280,000 sorties, airlifting more than 2.3 million tons of various materials to West Berlin, Germany, which was under Western control. It has protected the livelihood of 2.5 million local people.

The old U.S. military transport aircraft from more than 70 years ago had a load capacity of less than 10 tons and required many aircraft. Today, the C-17, the main model of U.S. military air transport, has a maximum load of nearly 80 tons, more than 200 pieces of equipment, and a theoretical transport capacity of over 17,000 tons. If it departs from the Jordanian Air Force Base, which is more than 100 kilometers away from Gaza, U.S. military transport aircraft can make at least three round-trips a day, and less than 20 C-17s can complete the airlift mission.

After the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the United States once dispatched more than 50 C-17s to urgently replenish weapons and ammunition to Israel, but it could not find enough transport aircraft to assist Gaza. This only shows that it is "not able but unwilling."

Generally speaking, sea transportation is more economical than air transportation, which is more restricted, and the United States seems to think so. According to the Associated Press, the U.S. military recently built a floating dock near the coast of Gaza. Once put into operation, it is expected that the daily sea-land transport capacity will reach 150 trucks.

However, a research paper from the U.S. Naval War College stated that this type of floating dock can only operate safely in calm sea conditions with a maximum wave height of 0.9 meters and a wind speed of less than 6.7 meters/second. According to data from the maritime department, wave heights in Gaza waters have often exceeded 1.5 meters since May, and the average wind speed has been around 9 meters.

What's more, even if the floating dock operates around the clock regardless of wind and waves, it can only meet the needs of less than 40% of Gaza refugees. Moreover, it takes 65 hours for a cargo ship carrying relief supplies to arrive in Gaza waters after setting sail from Cyprus. The water far away cannot quench the thirst of the people nearby.

To sum up, it can be seen that the only effective assistance method currently is road transportation. It is generally believed that as long as the United States increases pressure on Israel, it will be able to force the latter to completely open land transportation channels. As National Public Radio stated, from M16 assault rifles to F-35 fighter jets, from tank engines to aerial bombs, Israel’s military operations rely heavily on American-made weapons and equipment.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to worsen, and the key to alleviating it lies in the hands of the United States. Where to go? The Biden administration has reached a time when it needs to make an urgent decision.

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