Israel has been imposing its blockade on the Gaza Strip, West-Bank and Jerusalem since 2006 and for 16 years till the end of 2022 by all means and which is considered a flagrant violation against the International Law.
Unending Blockade on the Gaza Strip
Israel’s airtight land, sea, and air blockade on two-million-resident Gaza since June 2007 has devastated its economy and led to what the UN has called the “de-development” of the territory, a process by which development is not merely hindered but reversed.
About 56 percent of Palestinians in Gaza suffer from poverty, and youth unemployment stands at 63 percent, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.
More than 60 percent of Palestinians in Gaza are refugees, expelled from their homes in other parts of Palestine in 1948, in places such as Lydda (Lod) and Ramle, and now live just a few kilometers away from their original homes and towns.
Since the beginning of the siege, Israel has launched six protracted military assaults on Gaza: in 2008, 2012, 2014, 2019, 2021 and 2022. Each of these attacks has exacerbated Gaza’s already dire situation.
Thousands of Palestinians have been killed, including many children, and tens of thousands of homes, schools and office buildings have been destroyed. Rebuilding has been next to impossible because the siege prevents construction materials, such as steel and cement, from reaching Gaza.
Siege Repercussions on Health Sector in the Gaza Strip
There are many obstacles that prevent Palestinians from obtaining their rights to health as the Israeli occupation is considered the first obstacle to the deterioration of the health situation in Palestine.
Palestinians have been living in poor health conditions since the Israeli blockade and closure as they are prevented from accessing health services and crossing borders. In addition to the destroyed infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, which affected the health of citizens, as a result of a continuous shortage of food and energy, and the spread of chronic nutritional diseases.
Israel prevents the exit of some important medical devices from the Strip for maintenance purposes, as well as the entry of spare parts to repair broken devices, which number more than 20 devices. Repeatedly, the Ministry of Health in Gaza declared that it was facing a crisis due to the lack of medicines, supplies and medical devices; As a result of the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip, which continues for the 15th year in a row.
470 medicinal items are about to run out in the next few days as hospitals in the Gaza Strip suffer from a severe shortage of medical equipment and the difficulty of maintaining them.
In addition to the severe shortage of building materials led to the inability of the health sector to build or maintain health facilities as the blockade also resulted in the lack of fuel and electricity, which threatens the lives of many patients in operation rooms and even on the dead in refrigerators, as well as the blockade has greatly affected primary care centers.
Siege Impact on the Economic Situation in the Gaza Strip
The siege imposed on the Gaza Strip has led to a decrease in the national income rate due to the disruption of export, import, and industry operations, as Israel prevented the entry of industrial goods and materials into the Strip and allowed only 20 out of 5,000 commodities, including medicines and food commodities, to enter.
The dangerous rise in poverty rates reached 80%, severe poverty reached 36%, and the unemployment rate reached 85%. UNRWA announced that 80% of the population in the Gaza Strip is totally dependent on humanitarian aid.
Siege Impact on Academic Situation in the Gaza Strip
It’s worth mentioning that the high rates of school dropouts due to the Israeli siege and the difficult economic conditions, as well as the power outages, led to the creation of new challenges for students, such as severe cold and lack of clarity of vision, which affected the academic achievement of students.
In addition to the lack of construction materials, which led to the disruption of development projects in school buildings, as well as led to overcrowding students in classrooms, as well as to the unavailability of textbooks and difficulties experienced by students in enrolling in their universities abroad, the suspension of scholarships, the disruption of exam dates and registration.
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