UN agency Chief slams Airdrops as Inefficient, Costly Amid Blocked Aid Trucks
the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has criticized the current air-dropping of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, labeling the practice as “at least 100 times more expensive” than using trucks and capable of transporting half the volume of supplies.
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, stated that nearly 6,000 trucks laden with essential food supplies are currently waiting to enter Gaza but remain blocked. This assertion comes as several nations, including Israel, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, France, Spain, and soon Belgium, have commenced or are preparing to conduct air-drop operations.
Lazzarini emphasized that if there is political will to permit these costly and inefficient airdrops, a similar political will should be directed towards opening land routes for aid delivery. Israel controls the entry points into Gaza.
The stranded convoy of approximately 6,000 trucks represents a notable, readily available resource for addressing the dire humanitarian crisis. lazzarini underscored the urgency, stating, “People in Gaza are dying of hunger. The only way to tackle famine is to flood Gaza with aid.”
The focus on air-drops highlights a critical bottleneck in aid delivery, raising questions about the effectiveness of international response strategies and the political will to facilitate unimpeded access for essential supplies via land routes. The situation underscores the severe impact of access restrictions on the civilian population in Gaza, who are facing widespread hunger and potential famine.
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