Analysis: American rhetoric and actions on humanitarian aid to Gaza

In March 2003, a little over a week into the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, a British ship, "Sir Galahad," reached the Iraqi port city of Umm Qasr with 230 tonnes of humanitarian aid. Amid an acute food shortage in the country and a large number of Iraqis being displaced by the war, the ship's docking received widespread coverage in the Western media.

"Officers on the Australian ship HMAS Kanimbla had been told that getting reporters to the port for the arrival of RFA Sir Galahad was the top priority," British daily The Guardian reported on March 29, 2003.

A prominent TV host on CNN described the ship's arrival as "a very powerful political and psychological tool."

Another CNN reporter, who was part of the media contingent aboard the HMAS Kanimbla, described how local sailors, upon seeing the aid ship, "were taking pictures, they were quite excited about it."

Beyond the media spectacle, however, the aid ship didn't do much to improve the grim situation on the ground. Crippled by sanctions at the time, Iraq was already heavily dependent on the United Nations' oil-for-food program. The war brought an abrupt end to the program. According to the UN's World Food Program (WFP), Iraq needed 460,000 tonnes of food every month at the time. With the ouster of UN agencies and American control over the flow of humanitarian aid, the situation worsened in Iraq. That didn't stop then-U.S. President George W. Bush from claiming credit that same month for sending "massive amounts of humanitarian aid" to Iraq.

Around a year and a half prior to the Iraq invasion, the U.S. had created a similar humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. After incessant bombings of multiple parts of the country that devastated roadway connectivity and led to a huge food shortage, the U.S. carried out a number of aid airdrops.

Reporting after an airdrop from Khwaja Bahauddin, located close to the Tajikistan border in Afghanistan, CNN claimed that "residents here just want to thank the American people for their generosity."

The New York Times, reporting from a border village near Tajikistan, reported, "While the results of the drops into Taliban-held areas have so far been unclear, the villagers of this impoverished hamlet gathered up the packets with unabashed enthusiasm."

Despite the positive media coverage in the West, the move faced criticism from aid groups, who pointed out that, apart from its inadequacy, the food was unlikely to reach those in need and may actually put many civilian lives in danger amid a raging war.

Déjà vu

As Israel's military offensive in Gaza rages on today, one can't help but feel a sense of déjà vu in the American rhetoric and actions around humanitarian aid.

Amid tight Israeli control over the flow of humanitarian aid, the U.S. has cut off funding for UNRWA following Israeli claims that a small number of workers at the UN agency took part in the October 7 attacks. On Tuesday, the UN announced it was halting food distribution in Rafah due to a shortage of material and Israel's ongoing offensive.

The Gaza government media office said a day later that medical services were no longer available in North Gaza. Over the course of the conflict in Gaza, UN agencies and other humanitarian organizations have operated under tremendous pressure, while many humanitarian workers, including UN personnel, have been killed during Israel's offensive.

According to the "Protection of civilians in armed conflict" report tabled by the UN secretary-general on May 14, "UNRWA lost 142 staff members in conflict-related violence from October to December" in Gaza. Even the World Central Kitchen, whose founder Jose Andres is called a "friend" by U.S. President Joe Biden and which has been preferred over the UNRWA by the U.S. and Israel, had to halt its operations in Gaza after seven of its employees were killed in Israeli strikes in April. It resumed operations recently but stated on Wednesday that food supplies were limited.

The closure of the Rafah crossing with Egypt following Israel's invasion of the city on May 7 and the constant closures of the other major crossing at Karam Abu Salem, which has seen aid trucks come under regular attacks from Israeli settlers, have exacerbated the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which the WFP said earlier this month is suffering from a "full-blown famine."

While urging Israel to "immediately stop its collective punishment of the Palestinian people" during his address to the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the UN, also said humanitarian assistance should not be politicized.

"In conflict situations, it is imperative to guarantee safe and unimpeded humanitarian access and ensure the safety and security of humanitarian agencies and their staff. Humanitarian assistance must not be politicized. Basic goods such as food and medicine must not be weaponized. In occupied territories, the occupying power is obligated to protect the safety and security of civilians and meet their humanitarian needs," Fu said.

Biden's headline management

Like China, many countries and international organizations have, over the course of the war, called on Israel to make the land crossings fully operational. The U.S., Israel's closest ally and backer, has faced international calls to put pressure on Israel to allow the continuous flow of aid.

However, going against calls for the reopening of the land routes, the U.S. has instead built a pier off the waters of Gaza, a structure it says is temporary in nature and is meant to supply aid to the besieged Palestinian enclave.

The aid route through the pier consists of requiring aid to be delivered to Cyprus before it is vetted and transferred to the pier. This comes at a time when long lines of trucks are forced to wait at the Rafah crossing following Israel's invasion of the city and takeover of the border.

Patrick S. Ryder, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense, acknowledged on Thursday that despite 569 tonnes of aid being sent to Gaza through the pier, it had not reached the besieged population of the enclave yet. In this case, the U.S. is dependent on WFP to distribute the aid. However, the WFP has already warned that for an aid relief operation to be successful, the safety of humanitarian workers is of paramount importance. On Wednesday, the WFP said it was only able to deliver a "limited number" of high-energy biscuits from the aid that had arrived through the pier.

Afghanistan-style airdrops are another tactic the U.S. has used in Gaza. The government media office in Gaza reported 18 deaths in March from mishandled airdrops, including people who drowned while trying to access the aid material. The deaths underscored the dangers behind such a tactic.

"The need to get increased aid to the most vulnerable is urgent," U.S. President Biden wrote in a post on X on May 18 amid huge domestic and international pressure on the U.S. to use its influence in Tel Aviv to end the Israeli offensive in Gaza. However, the Biden administration's actions so far have demonstrated more of the cynical headline management that was seen during the American carnage in Iraq and Afghanistan over two decades ago than a genuine attempt to alleviate the suffering in Gaza.