US Begins Airdropping Aid to Gaza

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.

French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Lebanon very soon, the French presidency said on Thursday, after Macron spoke with Joseph Aoun, the Lebanese army chief who was elected president, to congratulate him.
The Elysee said in a statement that it would support Aoun's efforts to form a new government, underlining that it must be capable of carrying out reforms necessary for Lebanon's economic recovery and stability.
Lebanon’s parliament voted Thursday to elect Aoun, as head of state, filling a more than two-year-long presidential vacuum.
The vote came weeks after a tenuous ceasefire agreement halted a 14-month conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and at a time when Lebanon’s leaders are seeking international assistance for reconstruction.

US Begins Airdropping Aid to Gaza