Germany’s Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius has approved the country’s air force carrying out humanitarian airdrops over the Gaza Strip.
“The people in Gaza lack the most basic necessities,” Pistorius said in a statement Wednesday.
“We want to do our part to ensure that they have access to food and medicine. The German Armed Forces are providing two Hercules transport aircraft, each of which can carry up to 18 tons of cargo,” he said.
A statement published by the German defense ministry said Pistorius had signed a corresponding order to authorize the mission. It said aid drops could begin as early as the end of the week.
For context: While airdrops evade the often rigorous and lengthy examinations carried out at land checkpoints, aid agencies say their drawbacks overwhelmingly outweigh their benefits. They are more expensive, have limited delivery capacity and may culminate in chaos.
“Humanitarian workers always complain that airdrops are good photo opportunities but a lousy way to deliver aid,” according to Richard Gowan, the International Crisis Group’s United Nations director.
