October 2023 Israeli Blockade Of The Gaza Strip

On 9 October 2023, Israel imposed a "total blockade" of the Gaza Strip, blocking the entry of food, water, medicine, fuel and electricity. The blockade came in response to the beginning of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war and attacks in Israel by Hamas militants. Israel said that the lifting of the Gaza blockade would not occur until the hostages, who were abducted by Hamas, are safely returned to their homeland.

On 18 October 2023, United States President Joe Biden announced that Israel and Egypt had agreed to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

Background

Gaza has been under a partial blockade by both Israel and Egypt since 2005. Several border crossings have existed from Gaza along the border of Israel and Egypt. The announcement, on 9 October 2023, of a total blockade is the first time that such a blockade has been imposed.

On 7 October 2023, militants from Hamas, a Palestinian political and military organization and other Palestinian groups, launched its biggest assault in years across the Gaza–Israel barrier into southern Israel, as well as firing rockets into Israel. Israel subsequently declared war on the militants, calling up 300,000 reservists to execute Israel's military operation.

Blockade

The total blockade of Gaza was announced on 9 October 2023 by the Defence Minister of Israel, Yoav Gallant. "We are putting a complete siege on Gaza … No electricity, no food, no water, no gas – it’s all closed" he announced. "We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly," he added. The spokesman for the Minister of Energy of Israel, Israel Katz, said that Katz had ordered the water supply to Gaza to be cut, effective immediately. Israeli tanks and drones have been tasked with guarding openings in the Gaza–Israel border fence and enforcing the blockade.

As a result of the blockade, the only power plant in the Gaza Strip ran out of fuel on 11 October, at 2:00 pm. This resulted in electricity in Gaza to go off. Due to this, desalination plants providing water shut off, completely stopping running water.

On 12 October 2023, Israeli Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Israel Katz, stated that the lifting of the Gaza blockade would not occur until the hostages, who were abducted by Hamas, are safely returned to their homeland.

The Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital was forced to shut down, despite being Gaza's only cancer hospital, after running out of fuel.

Reactions

Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that Israel's siege of the Gaza Strip violates international law because it endangers the lives of civilians by depriving them of goods essential for their survival.

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese expressed concern that "the measures taken, including the bombing of the Rafah crossing, hints to an intention to really starve and kill the people who are innocent inside the Gaza Strip," saying there was fear among Palestinians in Gaza of a "second Nakba."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply distressed" by Israel's decision to impose a total blockade on Gaza.

Jan Egeland, the Secretary General for the Norwegian Refugee Council, stated that "collective punishment is in violation of international law. If and when it would lead to wounded children dying in hospitals because of a lack of energy, electricity and supplies, it could amount to war crime."

On 10 October 2023, European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said that "cutting water, cutting electricity, cutting food to a mass of civilian people, is against international law."

On 11 October 2023, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Israel's blockade and bombing of Gaza in retaliation for Hamas' attack was a disproportionate response amounting to a "massacre."

Egyptian authorities tried to prevent a mass exodus of Palestinian refugees from Gaza towards the Sinai Peninsula, rejecting a United States proposal for safe corridors to Egypt for Palestinians fleeing Gaza. The Rafah Border Crossing on the Egypt–Gaza border was closed by Egypt after the start of the conflict. Egypt urged Israel to allow safe passage for Palestinian civilians from the Gaza Strip instead of forcing them to flee towards Sinai.

Fabrizio Carboni, the International Committee of the Red Cross's (ICRC) director for the Middle East, said that "Without electricity, hospitals n Gazarisk turning into morgues."

According to Human Rights Watch, "Israel's Minister of Energy and Infrastructure has made it clear the recent Hamas attacks are 'why we decided to stop the flow of water, electricity and fuel'. These tactics are war crimes, as is using starvation as a weapon of war." A spokesperson for Gisha, an Israeli human rights group, said there was no "justification for this kind of targeting of civilians".

British politician and Leader of the Labour Party, Keir Starmer, announced his support for Israel's "right" to totally cut power and water supplies to Gaza in an interview with LBC, prompting the Labour Muslim Network to describe his comments as endorsing "collective punishment" and demand an apology from him. The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan urged Israel to exercise restraint, arguing that a blockade of the Gaza Strip could lead to "suffering" among Palestinian civilians.

On October 13, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli siege and the displacement of the population of the Gaza Strip.

Agnès Callamard, secretary of Amnesty International, considered the 16-year illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip and the collective punishment of the civilian population of Gaza to be a war crime, cruel and inhumane. She also said that the Israeli authorities should immediately stop the increased restrictions imposed as a result of the Defense Minister's order, including cutting off electricity, water, food, etc. she also stated that the blackout would drop the Gaza Strip into darkness and have a severe effect on essential services, access to clean water, communications and internet access, and public health.

On October 18, the United States used its veto power to block a UN Security Council resolution, sponsored by Brazil and supported by 12 of the 15 Council members, calling for "humanitarian pauses" to deliver aid to Gazan civilians. The US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield was the sole "no" vote and thus vetoed the humanitarian pause, explaining that the US was working on a diplomatic resolution to the humanitarian crisis and the resolution failed to recognize Israel's right to self-defense.

On October 21, the Israeli army dropped leaflets in Gaza with the message: "Urgent warning! To the residents of Gaza: your presence to the North of Wadi Gaza is putting your lives at risk. Anyone who chooses not to evacuate from the North of the Gaza Strip to the South of the Gaza Strip may be identified as a partner in a terrorist organization."

On October 22, Cindy McCain, executive director of the U.N. World Food Programme, warned that "Right now we’re facing a catastrophe in the area with the inability to feed people and the inability for the people to find anything to eat at all. These people are going to starve to death unless we can get in."

See also

* List of blockades
* Outline of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
* Allegations of war crimes against Israel
* 2006 Palestinian legislative election
* Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel
* Evacuation of the northern Gaza Strip
* Israeli–Palestinian conflict

References

{{2023 Israel–Hamas war

Blockade of the Gaza Strip
2023 Israel–Hamas war
Reactions to 2020s events
Collective punishment
Gaza–Israel conflict
Wars involving Palestinians
2023 in the Gaza Strip
Sieges
Blockades
Conflicts in 2023