Lift blockade, ensure lifesaving access for Gaza

Amnesty International has issued a report accusing Israel of continuing to inflict genocide on Palestinians in Gaza despite the October 10th ceasefire. Israel’s aim is to “bring about their physical destruction, without signalling any change in (its) intent,” Amnesty said.

Amnesty Secretary General Agnes Callamard argued the Israeli authorities are pursuing “their ruthless policies, restricting access to vital humanitarian aid and essential services, and deliberately imposing conditions calculated to physically destroy Palestinians in Gaza.” She added, “Israel’s pattern of conduct in Gaza, including the deliberate, unlawful denial of lifesaving aid to Palestinians, many of whom are injured, malnourished and at risk of serious disease, continues to threaten their survival.” At least 347 Palestinians, including 136 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks during the ceasefire, according to Gaza’s health authorities. Three Israeli soldiers have been slain. However, a study conducted by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) and the Centre for Demographic Studies (CED), has reported higher figures for fatalities, arguing that Gaza officials have been under reporting deaths. The institute estimated that more than 78,000 Palestinians were killed between October 7, 2023, and December 31, 2024, and that the current death toll could have surpassed 100,000. The study warned that life expectancy in 2024 fell to nearly half the level attained without the war.

While limited amounts of food and medical supplies have entered Gaza, Israel has blocked “equipment and material necessary to repair life-sustaining infrastructure and required to remove unexploded ordnance, contaminated rubble and sewage, all of which pose serious and potentially irreversible public health and environmental risks” Amnesty stated. In addition to limiting the volume of aid to a certain number of truckloads daily, Israel has reduced the number of agencies permitted to operate in Gaza after revoking some licenses.

“Israel must lift its inhumane blockade and ensure unfettered access to food, medicine, fuel, reconstruction and repair materials. Israel must also make concerted efforts to repair critical infrastructure, restore essential services, provide adequate shelter for the displaced and ensure they can return to their homes,” said Callamard.

“Now is not the time to ease pressure on the Israeli authorities. World leaders must demonstrate that they truly are committed to upholding their duty to prevent genocide and to ending the impunity that has fuelled decades of Israeli crimes across the Occupied Palestinian Territory. They must halt all arms transfers to Israel until Israel’s crimes under international law cease. They must press Israeli authorities to grant human rights monitors and journalists access to Gaza to ensure transparent reporting on the impact of Israel’s actions on conditions in Gaza,” Callamard asserted.

The Israeli army has occupied 53-58 per cent of Gaza, compelling Palestinians to live in “areas least capable of supporting life.” Farmers have been denied use of the most fertile lands in the strip as well as the sea, cropland and livestock have been destroyed, depriving Palestinians of “independent access to forms of sustenance.” Meanwhile, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) has said the decades long reconstruction of Gaza will cost $70bn and warned of imminent economic collapse in the Israeli occupied Palestinian territories. The Unctad report said Israel’s systematic bombardment and siege of the strip had created a “human-made abyss” in Gaza and argued that the economy contracted during 2023-2024, erasing 22 years of progress. Israel’s systematic destruction and economic siege have reduced Gaza’s GDP per capita to $161, which is among the lowest in the world. At the same time, frequent attacks on Palestinians by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the occupied West Bank have thrust the West Bank into deepening crisis. Consequently, decades of economic advancement have been wiped out in all Palestine. “Even with substantial aid, recovery to pre-October 2023 GDP levels could take decades.” the report said.

Israel launched its latest war on Gaza on October 7th, 2023, after an attack by Hamas which killed 1,200 and abducted 250. During this war, more than 69,000 Gazans have been slain and thousands are buried beneath the rubble. Conditions in Gaza are catastrophic. Israel has damaged and reduced to rubble civilian homes, refugee camps, schools, shops, health facilities, and public buildings. Seventy-seven per cent of the strip’s road network has been damaged, destroyed, or blocked, making it difficult for humanitarian aid agencies to transport food, water, fuel, and medicine. The World Food Programme (WFP) has said most families are unable to afford essential food items although prices have fallen in recent weeks. The quantity and quality of food have been reduced to pre- October 7th levels. Diets generally consist of pulses, cereals, and some dairy products, meat, poultry and fresh fruit and vegetables have been limited.

One positive development: UN agencies have resumed providing and delivering aid to Gaza while the controversial Israeli-US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) — which supplanted them from May till October — has halted operations and disbanded. The GHF was authorised by Israel to be the sole provider of aid and opened four distribution points in Israeli army held areas. The sites became chaotic and deadly whenever they opened as Israeli troops and US contractors fired at thousands of desperate Palestinians, the majority young men who thronged to secure food for their families, killing and injuring more than 1,000.