Blockade of the Gaza Strip

[1] Human rights groups have called the blockade illegal and a form of collective punishment, as it restricts the flow of essential goods, contributes to economic hardship, and limits Gazans' freedom of movement.

We must quickly resolve all outstanding major issues, including the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, the airport and the seaport, as well as the establishment of a direct link between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

In the autumn of 2007, Israel designated the Gaza Strip, under Hamas control, as a hostile entity, and instituted a series of sanctions which encompassed power reductions, stringent import restrictions, and border closures.

[6] In January 2008, in response to ongoing rocket attacks on its southern communities, Israel expanded its sanctions, fully sealing its border with the Gaza Strip and temporarily halting fuel imports.

Truck transits, which had been 12,000 per month in 2005, were reduced to 2,000 by November of that year, when in a further measure, in the context of Hamas rocket fire and Israeli attacks, food supplies were halved, fuel imports slashed and foreign currency restricted by the latter.

[70] A Jerusalem Post article mentioned Hamas' complaints that since June 2008 the PA no longer granted passports to Gazans, thereby "preventing tens of thousands of Palestinians from being able to travel abroad".

"[134] Maxwell Gaylard, UN Deputy Special and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Middle East also criticised Israel, saying "Permitting mayonnaise and potato chips into Gaza is really irrelevant in dealing with the underlying issues.

[135] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the decision enabled Israel to focus on real security issues and would eliminate "Hamas' main propaganda claim,"[136] and that it would strengthen the case for keeping the sea blockade in place.

[125] They found that a limited reactivation of the private sector resulted from the increased availability of consumer goods and some raw materials but the "pivotal nature of the remaining restrictions" and the effects of three years of strict blockade prevented a significant improvement in livelihoods.

[125] Few of the 40,000 housing units needed to replace homes lost during Operation Cast Lead and for natural population growth could be built as a result of the ongoing restrictions on importing building materials.

[174] On 12 March 2024, as a "pilot project", the 96th gate in the security fence (near Kibbutz Be'eri) was used by a convoy of six trucks taking humanitarian aid to northern Gaza under IDF protection.

[196] In 2022, Human Rights Watch issued a report on the situation in the Gaza Strip, which it called an "open-air prison" due to the blockade and held Israel responsible as the occupying power, and to a lesser degree Egypt, which has restricted movement of Palestinians through its border.

[28] The report highlighted how this blockade has led to humanitarian crises, namely shortages of essential supplies, limited access to healthcare, and high levels of poverty and unemployment among the Palestinian population in Gaza.

[28] The Norwegian Refugee Council report issued in 2018 called the territory "the world's largest open-air prison", highlighting in it several figures, including lack of access to clean water, to reliable electrical supply, to health care, food and employment opportunities.

Lastly, a European Network of Implementing Development Agencies (EUNIDA) report notes that, because of the security buffer zone imposed around Gaza as part of the blockade, as of June 2009, 46% of agricultural land was either inaccessible or out of production.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has estimated that Gaza fishermen need to journey at least 12–15 nautical miles from shore to catch larger shoals, and sardines in particular are 6 nmi (11 km) offshore.

Unmanned aerial vehicles patrol the sky for surveillance,[237] also engaging in missile strikes targeting people and infrastructure; these drones produce a nearly constant buzzing noise audible from the ground and are therefore referred to by Palestinians in Gaza as zanana.

[249] According to Gisha, items that have at various times been denied importation into Gaza in 2010 include ordinary consumer goods such as jam, candles, books, musical instruments, shampoo, A4 paper, and livestock such as chicken, donkeys, and cows.

[250][251] The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also lists wheelchairs, dry food items, crayons, stationery, and soccer balls as shipments that Israeli authorities have prevented from entering Gaza.

[262] In October 2012, an Israeli court forced Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) to release a document that detailed "red lines" for "food consumption in the Gaza strip" during the 2007 blockade.

[269] The 2010 UNHRC Report on the Flotilla Incident also noted that the naval blockade and other travel restrictions imposed on the Gaza Strip had tripled "abject poverty" among refugees in the territory, making 61 per cent of households food insecure causing "disproportionate damage to the civilian population".

Israel's duties to "protected persons" as an occupier of the Gaza Strip under Article 55 of the Fourth Geneva Convention require that it allow the passage of all aid, foodstuffs, and water given the severity of the humanitarian crisis.

[273] The Global International Humanitarian Law Centre of Diakonia published in 2014 that: ... as outlined by the Hague Regulations (1899/1907), a territory is considered occupied when it is placed under the effective control of a hostile army.

[277] Linked with the conflict following his party's loss in the 2006 election, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas approved the Egyptian border restrictions by the new regime, purportedly aimed at protecting Egypt from danger.

One of the cables states that "as part of their overall embargo plan against Gaza, Israeli officials have confirmed (...) on multiple occasions that they intend to keep the Gazan economy on the brink of collapse without quite pushing it over the edge".

Secondly it is Cairo's concern that under Hamas rule violence can spill into Sinai and threaten tourism, leaving Egypt vulnerable to US and Israeli accusations of ineffectively fighting terrorism.

"[306] On 15 December 2008, following a statement in which he described the embargo on Gaza as a crime against humanity, United Nations Special Rapporteur Richard A. Falk was prevented from entering the Palestinian territories by Israeli authorities and expelled from the region.

[317] She then said in an interview with Israel's Ynet that she believes that the "humanitarian crisis...was artificially created because of the blockade," but added that the idea of a flotilla is not the correct action to take: "We are not in favor of attempts to help people in this way.

"[326] William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, said in a prepared speech to the House of Commons that the blockade of Gaza was "unacceptable and unsustainable", and that it was "the view of the British government, including the previous government, that restrictions on Gaza should be lifted – a view confirmed in United Nations security council resolution 1860 which called for sustained delivery of humanitarian aid and which called on states to alleviate the humanitarian and economic situation", and that "current Israeli restrictions are counterproductive for Israel's long term security".

They cite Article 75(4)(b) of Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, which says the bar on collective punishment forbids the imposition of criminal-type penalties on individuals or groups on the basis of another's guilt, or the commission of acts that would otherwise violate the rules of distinction and/or proportionality.