What a New York Times photographer saw during a Gaza airdrop

The huge rear door of the Jordanian Air Force cargo plane slowly lowers like a rigid iron jaw, revealing a hazy blue sky and, well into below, the devastated landscape of northern Gaza.
In the cavernous hold of the plane, the aid brought by the crew is lined up in neat rows: packages chest-high boxes stacked on wooden pallets, each tied with shrink wrap. and heavy straps and marked with images of the Jordanian flag.
As light and sound rush by, the packages slide on rollers in the ground and disappear through the door, floating under inflated parachutes as a silent, and probably inadequate, offer to the desperate population.
As humanitarian groups and others ring the bell With alarm over an impending famine in northern Gaza and widespread hunger throughout the territory, airdrops are playing a leading role in efforts to deliver food, water and emergency supplies to Palestinians .
The Jordanian Air Force on Thursday allowed a New York Times photographer on one of its planes to observe the dropping of aid packages in northern Gaza. The journey, takeoff and return from Jordan's King Abdullah II Air Base, east of Amman, took several hours.
ImageA member of the Jordanian Air Force checking aid packages.
ImagePallets of relief supplies, marked with the Jordanian flag, ready to be loaded.
ImageA Jordanian soldier walking towards the plane before the airdrop.
ImageAn aid package beginning to fall from the plane, with its attached parachute beginning to open.
Countries including Jordan, the United States, Great -Brittany and France say the cuts help offset a sharp drop in the amount of aid coming into Gaza by truck since October 2017. On September 7, Hamas carried out a deadly attack on Israel, and Israel responded with a month-long military attack.
The United Nations and aid groups have complained about the slowdown in truck deliveries. by Israel's insistence on inspecting all supplies destined for Gaza. Most aid trucks were allowed to pass through just two border crossings – one from Egypt and one from Israel – in southern Gaza.
Israel argued that disorganization among humanitarian groups was to blame. for slow aid deliveries to the Palestinians and that much of the aid is diverted to Hamas or the black market, although it is not possible to verify these claims.
One of the few alternatives is to drop supplies from the sky, a process that takes only a few minutes in the air but spans vast offices...

World Mar 31, 2024 0 31 Add to Reading List

What a New York Times photographer saw during a Gaza airdrop

The huge rear door of the Jordanian Air Force cargo plane slowly lowers like a rigid iron jaw, revealing a hazy blue sky and, well into below, the devastated landscape of northern Gaza.

In the cavernous hold of the plane, the aid brought by the crew is lined up in neat rows: packages chest-high boxes stacked on wooden pallets, each tied with shrink wrap. and heavy straps and marked with images of the Jordanian flag.

As light and sound rush by, the packages slide on rollers in the ground and disappear through the door, floating under inflated parachutes as a silent, and probably inadequate, offer to the desperate population.

As humanitarian groups and others ring the bell With alarm over an impending famine in northern Gaza and widespread hunger throughout the territory, airdrops are playing a leading role in efforts to deliver food, water and emergency supplies to Palestinians .

The Jordanian Air Force on Thursday allowed a New York Times photographer on one of its planes to observe the dropping of aid packages in northern Gaza. The journey, takeoff and return from Jordan's King Abdullah II Air Base, east of Amman, took several hours.

ImageA member of the Jordanian Air Force checking aid packages.

ImagePallets of relief supplies, marked with the Jordanian flag, ready to be loaded.

ImageA Jordanian soldier walking towards the plane before the airdrop.

ImageAn aid package beginning to fall from the plane, with its attached parachute beginning to open.

Countries including Jordan, the United States, Great -Brittany and France say the cuts help offset a sharp drop in the amount of aid coming into Gaza by truck since October 2017. On September 7, Hamas carried out a deadly attack on Israel, and Israel responded with a month-long military attack.

The United Nations and aid groups have complained about the slowdown in truck deliveries. by Israel's insistence on inspecting all supplies destined for Gaza. Most aid trucks were allowed to pass through just two border crossings – one from Egypt and one from Israel – in southern Gaza.

Israel argued that disorganization among humanitarian groups was to blame. for slow aid deliveries to the Palestinians and that much of the aid is diverted to Hamas or the black market, although it is not possible to verify these claims.

One of the few alternatives is to drop supplies from the sky, a process that takes only a few minutes in the air but spans vast offices...