Stop Dismissing Gaza Food Airdrops!

By Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib

Stop Dismissing Gaza Food Airdrops! When I began putting together talking points and ideas for a big push to conduct food airdrops over Gaza in late December of 2023, I reached out to many pro-Palestine activists, advocates, and experts in the humanitarian field. The small-scale yet precedent-setting Jordanian airdrops of humanitarian aid over a field hospital and a church in northern Gaza inspired me. Most importantly, and due to previous experience with humanitarian aviation advocacy (Gaza airport proposal org I founded/ @PUAssistance), I knew that this had been done in other parts of the world and that from technical and security points of view, food airdrops are entirely viable to alleviate some of the suffering.

I was also immensely concerned by the continuously deteriorating and worsening humanitarian conditions due to the IDF’s expanded operations in the south, aid delivery and distribution problems, and growing desperation among the civilian population. Airdrops are typically considered a method of last resort due to their associated costs and general inefficiency from planes’ limited cargo delivery capacity compared to ships or trucks. Still and to me, the writing was on the wall.

Northern Gaza was terribly isolated by Israeli ground troops who severely limited the amount of food delivery by UNRWA and other agencies; and lawlessness and chaos coupled with Hamas’s corrupt and criminal practices around aid theft, taxation, and resale cumulatively resulted in dwindling food supplies with no real resolution on the horizon. There were also indications that remnants of Hamas’s fighters in the north would continue to attack Israeli troops, resulting in a prolonged siege that would worsen food shortages. Even in the south, where a little bit more food is available, the number of trucks kept steadily going down with Israeli red tape and “protesters” slowing the entry of aid trucks into Gaza. Increasingly, aid theft and distribution problems spiraled out of control, meaning that those who needed it the most had no access to the bare necessities.

Additionally, damaged road infrastructure, organized looting, and dangerous combat conditions made it increasingly impossible for aid workers and trucks to operate reliably without being targeted by Israeli fire or roaming gangs. All the while, political efforts to end the war through a ceasefire and hostage release deal stalled. No international body or player, including the U.S. or the UN, was able to force a fundamental change in the complex war landscape that could see more food deliveries to Gaza’s civilians, especially in the north. In essence, it was obvious and apparent that food and aid airdrops were not only going to be necessary and required, but conditions and circumstances were devolving such that they would in fact become the method of last resort to stabilize Gazans’ needs and prevent mass starvation and famine.

Unfortunately, and while many in the general public were quite receptive to the idea, a significant number of activists went out of their way to take issue with the airdrops proposal. Some believed that it was not going to happen, while others thought it was a “diversion” from calling for a ceasefire and demanding increased truck-based delivery. I pleaded with them that it is possible to do both but that time is of the essence to save as many lives as possible, urging them to promote the proposal to help Palestinian civilians in Gaza. After failing to secure meaningful support and backing from “big names” who support Gaza on social media, I proceeded to share details and elements of the proposal anyway. It started with images of UN planes and examples of World Food Program (WFP) airdrops in other conflict zones. Day after day, interest in my posts garnered enough attention and Laura Adkins (@Laura_E_Adkins) invited me to write an opinion article promoting the airdrops in the Forward. Great allies like Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) and Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) spread the piece and helped build greater interest and momentum, after which Yasmeen Serhan (@YasmeenSerhan) wrote an article about it in TIME.

Interestingly, and even as more and more people displayed interest in the proposal, many in the NGO and humanitarian field kept expressing hesitancy about airdrops as a viable option, believing that Israel would never allow them and that they wouldn’t make a difference. Once again, I pleaded with them to consider even the slightest of auxiliary methods that can augment woefully inadequate aid delivery. I explained that Israel had already allowed multiple Jordanian airdrops and could likely do so again for expanded air operations by more countries. Not only did my pleas fall on deaf and skeptical ears, but I also received communications about certain major NGOs that were opposing airdrops because they would undermine the NGOs’ control of aid flow into Gaza. I was even blocked by Cindy McCain, chief of the WFP, for asking her to consider airdrops after she gave a dismissive remark during a CNN interview with Jake Tapper. 

I was genuinely and sincerely dumbfounded; activists who are distressed by Gazans’ suffering and NGOs who are supposed to be spearheading humanitarian resolutions to civilians’ starvation and misery were consistently opposed to a creative proposal that could help even if it doesn’t entirely eliminate the problem or provide a permanent solution. “Airdrops are never going to be enough”; no one ever claimed that they would be, myself included and I have always been a proponent of a maritime corridor that brings in huge quantities of aid to Gaza’s shores. But to sit around and wait for a ceasefire that isn’t happening and to simply bemoan the problem and the suffering without offering solutions that account for the impasse and the horrible circumstances was truly disappointing.

Others were equally skeptical: this proposal was presented to senior officials in the Israeli government and military, as well as to U.S. officials, including in the National Security Council. Some thought that this would never work with Hamas on the ground, while others could only think about existing delivery channels and mechanisms. But over time, and as I continued pushing, writing, and engaging multiple parties and nations, many opened up to the idea of dispersed large-scale food airdrops over Gaza, particularly in the isolated and famished north. This led to large airdrops by Jordan, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, paving the way for the U.S. to embrace this option. 

To be clear, I will never ever claim that my efforts alone made this happen, for numerous people behind the scenes and some online were in fact advocating this including through petitions, calls and emails. Nevertheless, I did my best to mainstream this proposal, including with Jewish and Israeli audiences, many of whom are often unreachable by pro-Palestine activists. Additionally, support from groups like the New Israel Fund, Alliance for Middle East Peace, J-Street and Standing Together helped bolster the proposal. I also relentlessly pushed behind the scenes to turn Gaza airdrops into a multilateral effort, especially since the UN and the WFP failed to lead as was originally envisioned.

While I fully recognize that Gazans’ suffering is far from over and that airdrops are a small part of the solution, I will not shy away from expressing immense enthusiasm and gratitude that this is finally happening on a large enough scale. Unfortunately, and as is common in many crowds who will never see the positive in anything, some are quickly mocking or ridiculing airdrops as a mere publicity stunt by a desperate Biden Administration. They believe that a ceasefire or improved land deliveries are the only things that could make a difference. Guess what? I agree about the ceasefire & increasing truck deliveries, yet in the absence of those two occurrences, and given that nothing else is being done to improve civilians’ odds of surviving a famine, we must take whatever we can get.

Make no mistake about it: many civilian lives will be saved and sustained by this effort, and that is an incredibly positive thing to appreciate. Demand a ceasefire and criticize the policies and decisions of the Biden Administration around the Gaza war all you want but have an open heart and mind to pragmatic solutions and ideas even if they don’t go far enough to your liking, for they may just save lives. Most importantly, and critically of this whole experience, working with people across the political aisle and engaging audiences with whom we may not fully agree, is a powerful way to get things done. When I talk about Palestinians and Israelis maintaining their mutual and common humanity, that means coming together to promote solutions that actually improve people’s conditions and lives. It shouldn’t be that hard or controversial to support food airdrops over Gaza.