As of August 1, France will drop 40 tons of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. An operation that Paris has already coefficient with several other countries in April 2024, with 110 tons of food, but remains very sensitive to the French army.
“Therefore, we must flood the food band of food and medication water. There is no minute to lose,” said Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, in FranceInfo this Friday, trusting who is appropriate that demonstrates the admission for the care of 5,000 children under 5 years in early July for acute malnutrition, of which 63 died.
In total, four flights will bring ten tons of food each to the Palestinian enclave for several days. Only one plane will be used for the operation, said the chief of cabinet of armies to the Parisians, and will take off last year from Jordan. For this type of operation, a C-130 Hercules is generally used.
Then it is necessary to fly over Gaza at low altitude, about 600 meters from the ground, to be able to make a drop properly. Very impressive flights, even for soldiers on a mission.
The soldiers carefully inspect the packages before the launch, with the verification of the harnesses or the parachute. When the GPS point planned to eliminate humanitarian aid, aircraft valves are reached. In a few seconds, then, the palettes of approximately one ton each drop and their parachute unfold.
Very delicate operations
The parachute operations are carried out in close cooperation with the Jordanian authorities and the United Nations. The necessary parachutes for the gazanis, in the control of an important famine, but that are very dangerous for populations in the act. The fall of falls cannot be very precise, so it is very difficult for the French army to ensure the area.
In these circumstances, accidents have already taken place. In March 2024, five people died and another ten were injured by the fall of a humanitarian package whose parachute did not open. Last year, causing dead in the Gaza Strip.
In addition, once it reached the ground, the food sometimes the populations take a storm. The population is not avoided beforehand from the point of fall, to avoid disturbances.
Light help in the face of emergency
In plots, products of the first non -perishable needs. Last year, France dropped preserves, rice or corn. The accessories are generally added in each palette: in 2024, France had also dropped drawings for children, but also toys and clothing.
Humanitarian associations also greet these actions of the air lagages, but deplores the small amount that this represents in the face of the emergency in which the Palestinian enclave is located: 40 tons of food fallen by plane, this represents two humanitarian aid trucks.
Therefore, these drops are “a beginning”, but it would be necessary to accelerate the rotation to effectively help the population of Gazán. However, these are very complicated flights to settle for France.
“France is also working on land routes,” said Jean-Noël Barot, aware of the efficiency and security that humanitarian trucks can bring. However, the land crossing between Israel and Gaza, Kerem Shalom, is closed. Today, the equivalent of 600 trucks is waiting to pass through the Palestinian territory.
“I remind you that there are 52 tons of help that have been waiting for months in El-Arich for Egypt for months,” said Foreign Minister about Franceinfo.
He asks the Israeli government to reopen “all air, land and sea access routes”, which would also better ensure food transmission.
“While humanitarian aid is as rare as it is today, its distribution will generate very important difficulties, movements of the crowd,” he said, evoking “blood baths” observed last week during a distribution made by the Israeli army.
Source: BFM TV
