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US Begins Airdropping Aid to Gaza

In this image obtained from the US Department of Defense, a US Air Force loadmaster releases humanitarian aid pallets of food and water over Gaza, March 2, 2024. (Photo by Christopher HUBENTHAL / US Department of Defense / AFP)
In this image obtained from the US Department of Defense, a US Air Force loadmaster releases humanitarian aid pallets of food and water over Gaza, March 2, 2024. (Photo by Christopher HUBENTHAL / US Department of Defense / AFP)
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US Begins Airdropping Aid to Gaza

In this image obtained from the US Department of Defense, a US Air Force loadmaster releases humanitarian aid pallets of food and water over Gaza, March 2, 2024. (Photo by Christopher HUBENTHAL / US Department of Defense / AFP)
In this image obtained from the US Department of Defense, a US Air Force loadmaster releases humanitarian aid pallets of food and water over Gaza, March 2, 2024. (Photo by Christopher HUBENTHAL / US Department of Defense / AFP)

The US on Saturday carried out its first airdrop of humanitarian aid for civilians in the Gaza Strip.
The aid, packaged into 66 bundles on three US aircraft containing tens of thousands of meals, was dropped above Gaza’s coast where Israel is continuing its military offensive.
CENTCOM said in a statement that the US Central Command and the Royal Jordanian Air Force conducted a combined humanitarian assistance airdrop into Gaza on March 2, 2024, to provide essential relief to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict.
On Friday, US President Joe Biden announced that the US will airdrop humanitarian aid to Gaza as the United Nations warns of imminent famine amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Republicans and Democrats in Congress found themselves harshly fractured along party lines on Friday over Biden's decision to airdrop aid to Gaza.
Some international aid agencies have also criticized the President’s decision, saying it will do little to help those who are starving.
Meanwhile, several bipartisan congressmen, including the most pro-Israel members, expressed conflicting positions concerning the airdrops.
Both Republicans and Democrats agree on the issue of supporting Israel. However, several congressmen, including the most pro-Israel Democrats, have been increasingly wary of the devolving humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“I support this move by the president,” Representative Jared Moskowitz, one of the most pro-Israel Democrats in Congress, said in a statement.
“We have to explore all possible paths to get aid into Gaza, especially since we know Hamas doesn't care about the people of Gaza,” he said.
Also, Democrats Ritchie Torres and Kathy Manning announced their support for Biden's decision. “I fully support any and all attempts to deliver urgently needed humanitarian aid to Palestinians in distress,” Torres said.
Democrat Josh Gottheimer said he supports the airdrops but also said Congress “must act” to free the hostages in Gaza and “crush Hamas.”
On the other hand, Republicans opposed the airdrops, with many citing the risk of the aid falling into Hamas' hands.
Republican Tim Burchett said, “If it gets to the children that's great but the problem we have had in the past is aid gets to the enemy.”
Others cited the Israeli war effort. “We didn't send aid to Germany and Japan in 1944. Let Israel finish the fight with Hamas and then send aid. Sending aid now helps Hamas,” said Republican Don Bacon.
Republican Jim Banks posited that Biden is “basing his foreign policy on a Michigan election that he's going to lose.”
More than 100,000 people voted “uncommitted” in Michigan's Democratic primary on Tuesday in protest of Biden's support for Israel, spooking many Democrats about their general election odds in the key swing state.
Some Democrats who support the plan signaled they are attuned to the risk of diversion but do not see it as an insurmountable obstacle.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.