Gaza

For the two million people who live Gaza, life is an endless struggle. The current situation sees the citizens of Gaza living in abject poverty in near inhuman conditions. The horrific situation which the people of Gaza will wake up to today is a direct result of Israel’s official policy, which continues to determine daily life in the region.

In September 2015, the UN published a report on the situation in Gaza which warned that without significant changes to Israel’s policy, Gaza had no chance of recovery and would become unlivable by 2020. Not only has Israel refused to change it’s policies but it has made tighter sanctions and stricter rules for the people already suffering in Gaza.

It is clear that isolating Gaza from the rest of Palestine is a strategic and calculated part of Israeli policy. With tight restrictions on travel to and from Gaza, Israel has effectively made Gaza a no-go-region.

When Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in 2007, Israel put Gaza under a blockade, turning two million people into prisoners, limiting access to jobs, imports/exports, food and also travel in and out of the region.

This blockade has driven Gaza’s economy into collapse. Unemployment is one of the highest in the world, at around 45%. Among women, the rate is 71.5%; in the under 29 age bracket, it was 61.9%. Some 80% of Gaza’s residents depend on humanitarian aid, and about 60% suffer from food insecurity. In the year 2000, before the blockade was imposed, Gaza’s unemployment rate was 18.9%. (Statistics from B’TSELEM)

In addition to making everyday conditions unbearable in Gaza, Israel has also conducted 5 wars in Gaza since 2009. These wars have destroyed much of the essential infrastructure, which is often rebuilt using donor money from the EU and Gulf states, and then destroyed again a couple of years later.

On October 7th 2023 members of the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad broke through the Gaza border/fence, and launched a large scale attack on Israeli military bases and civilian populations. Approximately 1,200 Israelis were killed. Following this attack Israel launched an unprecedented full scale attack on all of Gaza, resulting 15 months later in the death of over 50,000 Palestinians, with over 11,000 missing under the rubble. 80% of Gaza’s infrastructure has been destroyed, from hospitals and schools to homes, power plants, businesses and roads. 1.9 million people – 90% of the population – were displaced from their homes, most of which were subsequently destroyed. The Israeli military has been accused of the crime of genocide, starvation, extermination and of crimes against humanity. There is an active investigation at the International Criminal Court into the Crime of Genocide, bought by South Africa against Israel, and arrest warrants have been issued for Benjamin Netanyahu (Israeli Prime Minister of Israel), Yoav Gallant (Minister of Defence for Israel) and Mohammed Deif (Hamas Military commander).

The situation in Gaza today is rapidly evolving. To stay up to date on how we are campaigning, and to access all our statements and calls to action, please click here.