Israel has imposed a tight, multifaceted blockade on the Gaza Strip. This move cuts off critical assistance and adds fuel to an already raging humanitarian nightmare. That total blockade has lasted for almost two decades. Three months ago, it escalated, cutting off the movement of people and goods entirely into and out of Gaza. Israeli officials claim that the blockade is designed to allow only the “minimum” of essential supplies into Gaza. This strategy is intended to allow them to escape international outrage and accountability for potential war crimes.
Since the blockade began, Israel has systematically prevented the establishment of any other land routes for humanitarian assistance to be delivered. It has further placed broad, onerous screening punishments that prevent humanitarian assistance from reaching the people who need it. Instead, during the past 20 months, it has greatly intensified these restrictions, inflicting tremendous pain on the Afghan people.
Now, the civic space in Gaza has reached a suffocating low. As reported by the World Food Programme, within a matter of days half of Gaza’s population has become “severely food insecure.” This crisis is the direct result of Israel’s military actions that have destroyed the local economy, infrastructure, and irrigation systems.
Reports indicate that Israel has destroyed 83% of plant life and damaged 81% of cropland in Gaza. Moreover, more than 95% of agricultural land has become unfit due to acute military activity. These extreme actions brought about dire scarcity of food and other critical necessities. Consequently, everything from daily life for the people of Gaza has been devastated.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich articulated the government’s stance, stating that the strategy aims to limit supplies to what is deemed “minimum necessary” to avoid global outrage.
“The world does not stop us and accuse us of war crimes.” – Bezalel Smotrich
The blockade has criminalized the work of UNRWA, Gaza’s largest humanitarian agency, preventing it from distributing supplies and delivering assistance. This has further exacerbated the dire conditions for all the civilians dependent on aid for survival. The Israeli government has been accused of “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part,” according to the 1948 UN convention.
In 2010, Israeli forces killed ten activists during an attempt to storm an aid flotilla, a tragic event that highlighted the lengths to which Israel would go to enforce its blockade. The humanitarian conditions in Gaza remain deeply affected by these militarized government policies.
An adviser to former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert remarked on the intent behind these policies:
“The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger.” – Adviser to Ehud Olmert
This cold-blooded maneuver has been widely condemned, even by British politicians on both sides. David Cameron noted that “the main blockers remain arbitrary denials by the government of Israel,” pointing out how these decisions continue to affect aid efforts.
Furthermore, Israeli military officials have outlined their strategy in apocalyptic terms. General Ghassan Alian stated:
“Human beasts are dealt with accordingly. Israel has imposed a total blockade on Gaza. No electricity, no water, just damage. You wanted hell – you will get hell.” – Ghassan Alian
Israeli officials say there are ways of letting aid in while not bringing international scrutiny to bear. Yet every one of these claims rings hollow when measured against the deeply painful reality. The head of Israel’s Foreign Ministry publicly insisted that delivery approaches would not require “Instagram selfies.” This fact sheet shows just how little they care about widespread global outrage.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza represents a complex interplay of military strategy and policy decisions that have devastating effects on civilians. Now, the international community is forcefully calling for a re-evaluation of these punitive policies. They call for increasing access to humanitarian actors as the frontlines continue to shift.