The German Air Force also wants to supply the people in the Gaza Strip with relief supplies from the air. Defense Minister Pistorius announced this. For the first time, aid convoys reached directly to the north of the contested area.
The Bundeswehr is taking part in the airlift to supply the people in the Gaza Strip with relief supplies. Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius ordered the Air Force to “support humanitarian aid to the population in the Palestinian territory through load shedding”.
For this purpose, the Bundeswehr is providing two Hercules transport aircraft, each of which can transport up to 18 tons of load. The operation could begin at the end of next week.
Operation could start next week
“The people in Gaza lack the bare necessities,” explained the SPD politician. “We want to do our part to ensure they have access to food and medicine.” The drop was “not without danger,” the minister added. “The crews designated for this are trained in the relevant procedures and are very experienced.” According to the ministry, the German members of the binational air transport squadron in Evreux in France will take on the task.
Previously, the Foreign Office had apparently also pushed for the deployment of the German Air Force and sent a request to the Ministry of Defense. The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael Roth, said this morning ARD morning magazine, he could not imagine that there would be a critical discussion about this operation in the Bundestag. Air support for Gaza will also be a topic in the Foreign Affairs Committee today. The airlift was initiated by Jordan. German partner countries such as the USA and France are also taking part.
Relief supplies reach north via new military road
The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is catastrophic. The north is largely cut off from aid deliveries. Israel previously allowed trucks directly into the north of the coastal strip via a new military road.
After a check at the Israeli border crossing at Kerem Shalom, six trucks brought aid from the World Food Program (WFP) across the border into the northern Gaza Strip from the so-called 96th Gate near Kibbutz Be’eri, the military announced.
It was a pilot project to prevent the aid supplies from falling into the hands of the terrorist organization Hamas. The results would now be presented to the government.
First convoy in weeks
The World Food Program had previously announced that the first successful convoy to the north since February 20th was able to deliver food to 25,000 people in the city of Gaza. Since the people in the north are on the brink of famine, deliveries and direct access to the north are needed every day.
The gravel road used by the convoy on the instructions of the Israeli government divides the sealed-off coastal strip south of the city of Gaza along an east-west corridor that has been occupied by Israeli troops since the start of the war against Hamas a good five months ago.
The route runs from the Israeli border near Kibbutz Be’eri, which was attacked on October 7 in the massacre carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups in Israel, to the Mediterranean coast.
Criticism of Israel over the humanitarian situation
Israel has come under strong international criticism because of the now catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. So far, aid supplies have only come into the region via the south of the Gaza Strip. But little help reaches the north – partly because of the destruction and the risk of shelling.
The United Nations is urging to expand aid deliveries by truck and to allow goods to be transported via other border crossings to the particularly affected north.
Ship with aid supplies on the way to the Gaza Strip
The first aid supplies are now on their way by sea towards the Gaza Strip. An aid organization ship loaded with 200 tons of food left Cyprus on Tuesday. The organization World Central Kitchen announced on the X platform that the ship had left Larnaca.
The aid shipment was expected to arrive on the Gaza coast within two or three days. The well-known chef and World Central Kitchen boss José Andrés did not want to say where exactly the ship would dock for security reasons. The deliveries are intended for the north of the Gaza Strip, confirmed Andrés and the captain of the Open Arms ship, Oscar Camps. Near the coast, two smaller boats will take the barge to a pier that World Central Kitchen is having built.
Israel has said it will inspect all shipments before allowing them through. The trip is a test run for the opening of a sea corridor through which aid supplies are to be delivered to the Gaza Strip.
Georg Schwarte, ARD Berlin, tagesschau, March 13, 2024 10:22 a.m