On February 26 and 27, Jordan and France airdropped food supplies to the civilian population of the Gaza Strip. This Monday, in Deir al-Balah, residents gathered on the beach helplessly watched the packages fall into the sea. Some of them swam to retrieve aid pallets that had fallen into the water. Symbolizing the frustration of Palestinians, these images made the rounds on social networks, raising many questions about this humanitarian operation.
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The first videos filmed in the Gaza Strip appeared during the day on Monday, February 26. A crowd gathered on the beach awaiting the arrival of aid from Jordan and France. Large packages held by parachutes slowly descend from the sky, but some end up in the water. Comments followed each other, and sometimes bitter: “ #Gaza residents were waiting for food and medicine, but Jordanian and French pilots threw them into the sea in front of them. Shame on these pilots, are they human ? Shame on Arab leaders. Shame on the western leaders. What will history say about them? ? »
Very quickly, the Palestinian civilians gathered on the shore arranged themselves to fetch pallets of cargo that were still floating. Some manage to reach the area by paddle or fishing boat. Those who find emergency kits or rations are in for a treat. Like the now famous Palestinian videographer and influencer, Saleh al-Jafrawi, who broadcast the images on his Instagram account, which is followed by more than 4.4 million people.
A drop in the ocean during the drought in Gaza
” France and Jordan, in coordination with other international partners, are intensifying their humanitarian cooperation to provide essential assistance to the population of Gaza in the context of a humanitarian situation of absolute emergency. », underlines a French diplomatic source. The French Air Force mobilized one of these C-130 Hercules cargo ships for this mission. The French Foreign Ministry has confirmed that 2.2 tons of food parcels and hygiene kits were dropped by French aircraft.
The Jordanian Air Force, for its part, resupplied eleven sites from north to south using three identical transport planes from the coast of the Palestinian Territory. The videos published on social networks in the middle of this Monday, February 26, belong to the Deir-al-Balah sector, as we were able to establish after cross-checking.
For several hours, these images rotate in a loop, evoking the emotion of Internet users: “ Huge respect to Jordan for airdropping food, water and medical supplies to some areas of Gaza ✊🏼 Countries around the world 🌍, you can all drop humanitarian aid in Gaza like the Jordanian army did today. »
A quick look at the February 26 video shows a total of four cargo planes. At this stage, we do not yet know if French aircraft participated in humanitarian aid drops. It was a Jordanian military officer, Mustafa al-Hairi, who mentioned the presence of French aircraft.
Commander of Military Media Al-Raqin Mustafa al-Hiyari reveals more details about the Jordanian air pollution targeting the population in Gaza in a press conference held by King Abdullah Al-Thani in al-Ghabawi region.#Gaza #فلسطين #الجيش_العربي #هنا_المملكة pic.twitter.com/zuXXWFMkq5
— قناة الملكة (@AlMamlakaTV) February 26, 2024
“The operation involved four landing planes, three Jordanian planes and one French plane,” says Mustafa al-Hayari.
On the French side, the news came only at the end of the afternoon. Interrogated by the RFI, the Army General Staff referred to the participation of French elements “ Entered In a Jordanian device, without giving further details. ” The people of Gaza need massive humanitarian aid. All crossing points should be opened without delay. France and Jordan have just launched a new operation to direct humanitarian cargo to Gaza. », we can finally read on Emmanuel Macron’s X account published at 5:36 pm (Paris time), in Arabic.
Remove the water from the water. And you should read all the lessons as soon as possible.
France and Jordan carried out a new air drop for humanitarian aid directly in the Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/0fpKvMp2hs
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) February 26, 2024
At the Ministry of the Armed Forces, Minister Sebastian Lecornu welcomes X: “ After the first successful drop on January 5, French and Jordanian military aircraft have carried out a new joint operation to drop humanitarian cargo directly into Gaza. » But some pro-Palestinian accounts are publishing angry reactions, this time targeting the French president. ” This is the airdrop of French and Jordanian humanitarian aid Macron is talking about : released into the open sea, where poor Palestinians have no access. It’s sad… sad. additional torture. »
Why did the packages fall into the sea?
The images provided by Army Headquarters clearly allow us to infer the position of the French plane at the time of the drop. The plane flies right along the coast, above the beach.
At the time of drop, visibility over Gaza was not the best, but flight conditions were primarily acceptable. Weather records show weak winds that will change direction during the day.
An Air and Space Force source clarified that “ Guidance was done by gravity, without a GPS guidance system, and in case of parachute failure, the pallet was carried over the ocean to avoid injuring anyone on the ground. ” It is estimated that the planes were flying at an altitude of about 2,500 feet before the drop (about 760 meters) and the packages packed on pallets may have weighed several hundred kilograms. On the ground, the area was dense, so the pilots claimed that ” This decision was taken logically ” They finally specify: ” In the case of very weak winds or non-linear wind gradients, the dropped package may not drift far enough towards the beach, which happened for a few packages on Monday. » Images of the opening of the package published by Palestinians on the network finally show that the rations were packed to resist water.
That being said, in Paris, the general staff of the armed forces did not want to comment on another aspect of the topic: the limitations imposed by the Israeli army on planes carrying humanitarian overflights. Indeed, the air volume above and around the Gaza Strip is disturbed by numerous planes or missiles. In all cases, pilots generally prefer to leave their instruments in quiet areas to conduct safe maneuvers. Under no circumstances could this supply be carried out without close coordination with Israel.
New series of drops this Tuesday
At this stage, Israel can easily block the arrival of road convoys from neighboring countries, although the road to the skies remains open. The Tuesday 27 February drop once again involved French C-130s and Jordanian, Egyptian and Emirati aircraft, the Jordanian press indicated. According to Arab media, the King of Jordan, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Abdullah II, personally participated in the airdrop operation on Gaza. A statement issued by the Jordanian Armed Forces emphasized that the participation of the Jordanian sovereign ” Reaffirming Jordan’s continued position alongside our Palestinian brothers “
For its part, French diplomacy asserts that “ France remains more mobilized than ever to come to the aid of the Gazan population, in a humanitarian crisis situation that worsens by the day. France continues to demand from Israel the immediate opening of all Gaza crossing points and the entry of large amounts of humanitarian aid. “
