Death Rains from the Sky in Gaza

TEHRAN (Defapress) - Yousri Alghoul, a writer for Al-Mayadeen, reported on the airdropping of aid packages over Gaza:

This is not the first time balloons containing aid have been released over Gaza City and its north. Before this harsh phase of deprivation and hunger, there were other periods for us (the people of Gaza).

At the beginning of the Gaza war, we were resisting under conditions where this city, especially its north, suffered from hunger and deprivation. But after the second ceasefire phase arrived and residents of the southern Gaza Strip returned to their destroyed homes, believing that a painful chapter in our people's history had ended, we witnessed aid balloons descending over the uninhabited Al-Mashtal area. We competed with each other to get a can of tuna, a bottle of vegetable oil, or even a can of beans.

I remember writing numerous articles, reports, and daily notes about this bitter situation, a situation resulting from this humiliating method. Food was not distributed fairly or equally but was instead dropped randomly from the sky. Yet, we waited for Arab military planes to pass overhead and release their cargo, then rushed toward those parachutes.

We thought these scenes would not be repeated, especially with residents returning to the north and gathering in areas west of Gaza, near the sea, and in locations previously designated for aid drops. However, the ongoing policy of blockade and starvation has forced Arab and Western governments to resort once again, albeit in a limited manner, to the same old method of sending aid through the sky.

On the other hand, airdropping aid packages has caused severe physical and psychological harm to Palestinians. Some of these shipments have led to the death and injury of several citizens. Additionally, some tents and concrete roofs have been destroyed due to the impact or technical failures of these large balloons. This has created immense fear among the people to the extent that many residents are now demanding an end to this method.

Is it acceptable for a tent to be destroyed over a food package that, under normal circumstances, is worth no more than $20? Is it right to treat Palestinians as third-class humans and throw food at them from the sky? What reaction do these governments expect from the hungry in exchange for such meager aid? Since these balloons usually land in densely populated areas, the west of Gaza is now more crowded than ever, with an influx of residents from Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia, and Jabalia.

During the first phase of aid airdrops over Gaza, I heard news of young men drowning as they ventured into the sea to collect aid. None of these methods, under the ongoing policy of deliberate starvation, has succeeded to this day. The occupiers only allow a very limited number of aid trucks into the Gaza Strip and prevent Gazans from reaching warehouses or humanitarian aid distribution points. They even threaten truck drivers that they will be targeted if they cross a certain boundary.

Moreover, the occupiers exploit the collaboration of some traitors and their agents to form militia-like groups, such as the Abu Shabab gang, in southern Gaza, imposing the law of the jungle there and targeting security officials. The result is that Palestinians have been plunged into a miserable state, with hunger becoming a normal phenomenon. Additionally, extreme poverty, the destruction of banks, cash shortages, and soaring prices of goods, which can only be purchased through banking apps like PalPay, have made life impossible for Gazans.

In response to these conditions, dozens of Palestinian and international elites have issued statements and warnings on social media and in the press, calling on the international community to refrain from deploying aid balloons. This method not only crushes the morale of Palestinians but also undermines their dignity. Palestinian elites are also demanding pressure on the occupiers to open crossings and allow aid trucks in so that aid can be distributed fairly among the people.

All of this is happening while, unfortunately, the Arab world remains weak and incapable of taking action to defend the blood of their Palestinian brothers, or at the very least, to open aid crossings. Worse still, some Arab governments are cooperating with the fake Israeli regime in keeping these aid crossings closed.