Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan (second from left) and Senior Minister of State for Defence Zaqy Mohamad (third from left) speaking with SAF personnel at King Abdullah II Airbase in Jordan on March 17. - ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
AMMAN, Jordan (The Straits Times/ANN): Meal packs and critical supplies including medical items and equipment have arrived in Jordan from Singapore, with the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) set to start humanitarian airdrop operations to Gaza soon.
Singapore will join several Western and Arab countries, including the United States, Jordan, Egypt and Germany, in efforts to deliver much needed supplies by plane to the 2.3 million people in the war-stricken Palestinian enclave, who are in the grips of famine.
The humanitarian package – Singapore’s third tranche of aid to Gaza – was put together in close consultation with Jordan based on the needs on the ground in Gaza, said Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Ministry of Defence (Mindef) in a joint statement on March 17.
The RSAF had on March 15 dispatched two aircraft – an A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport and a C-130 Hercules transport plane – along with 69 Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel to Jordan for the latest humanitarian mission.
The C-130 will stay on and conduct the humanitarian airdrop operations out of Jordan, together with the Royal Jordanian Air Force.
MFA and Mindef said Singapore will continue to work closely with its partners in the Middle East, as well as humanitarian partners in Singapore, to offer additional help and support to communities affected by the Israel-Hamas war.
“Singapore continues to call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and urges all parties to allow for the immediate, safe and unhindered provision of humanitarian aid to affected civilians in Gaza,” the ministries added.
Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Senior Minister of State for Defence Zaqy Mohamad were at the King Abdullah II Air Base – located about 40km outside of Jordan’s capital Amman – to mark the arrival of the latest tranche of aid.
They were received by the Jordanian Armed Forces Royal Air Force Training Director and Mr Hussein Al Shebli, secretary-general of the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation.
Dr Balakrishnan said Singapore was deeply grateful to Jordan for facilitating Singapore’s humanitarian aid in Gaza, and for inviting the Republic to conduct humanitarian airdrop operations of urgently needed supplies.
“I thank our men and women of the RSAF and SAF for taking on this life-saving mission. It is an expression of Singaporeans’ care, concern and compassion for Palestinians in Gaza,” he added.
Mr Zaqy noted that the RSAF’s upcoming airdrops will be different from regular missions as they will be conducted in a conflict zone.
He and Dr Balakrishnan declined to share details about the planned airdrops and deployment of the C-130, including how long it will stay in the region, citing operational and security reasons.
Mr Zaqy said: “We are working with the Jordanian Armed Forces, and we need to coordinate all the efforts, not just for Singapore but also with the various armed forces that are also here. As you can see, Germans and the Netherlands, and others are also here to give support... Rest assured, all the aid will be coming through and delivered directly to Gaza.”
He added that more aid is expected to arrive in Jordan from Singapore some time in the next few days.
“We are hoping that more organisations will come on board, and we welcome any Singaporean who wants to support this effort,” he said.
Singapore’s first tranche of aid to Gaza was delivered in early November 2023 when the Singapore Red Cross handed over supplies, as well as funds that were raised by the Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation, to the Egyptian Red Crescent.
A second tranche of aid, which included medicine, sanitation items and water filters, was delivered to the Egyptian Red Crescent later that month, with the SAF deploying an A330 Multi-Role Tanker transport plane and 46 military personnel for the mission.
The latest delivery of aid comes amid a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The United Nations has warned that a quarter of the population in Gaza are a step away from starvation, as aid groups face numerous challenges in getting supplies in.
Almost all of the humanitarian aid going into Gaza, which is under a near-total blockade, is currently delivered via the Egyptian-controlled Rafah and Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom land crossings to the south of the enclave.
But the distribution of aid has been hampered, with the UN citing factors such as Israeli restrictions on truck convoys, poor road conditions and the ongoing fighting impeding aid operations.
About 100 trucks carrying food and other supplies entered Gaza each day in February, on average, through the two open land routes. That is a fraction of what was going in by land before the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023, according to UN data.
Besides delivering aid by land and air, the US, Britain, the European Union and other governments are also establishing a maritime corridor to bring aid to Gaza from Cyprus.
The first ship carrying 200 tonnes of food aid that left the Mediterranean on March 12 has reached Gaza – the first time a ship has been authorised to deliver supplies to the territory since 2005.
A second sea shipment of aid is expected to be sent from Cyprus to Gaza in the coming days.
Despite these efforts, aid groups have said only a permanent ceasefire and the resumption of large-scale truck deliveries will be able to prevent the situation in Gaza from worsening.
With airdrops able to deliver only a few tonnes of food each time and reportedly costing roughly US$30,000 (S$40,100) per drop, this delivery method is costly, ineffective and dangerous, said non-governmental organisations on the ground in Gaza.
On March 17, Dr Balakrishnan underscored this point when speaking to the media.
The only way to achieve the necessary volume, speed and urgency for the delivery of aid into Gaza is through ground-based operations, he said.
But in the interim, the people there are facing very difficult and dire circumstances, so every airdrop of humanitarian assistance will save lives, he added.
“That’s why this mission at this point in time is critical,” he said.
“It is not the complete solution. It will be inadequate. But every drop, every sortie, every bit makes a difference.” - The Straits Times/ANN
