The untold reality of life in Gaza, Palestine
Analysis by Hala Al Taher, Staff Writer
September 5th, 2020
The Palestinian- israeli conflict, like many struggles around the world, is of a multi-layered nature. However, it is distinct from most wars in other parts of the world. To elucidate further, the Palestinian israeli war is the only conflict where one witnesses an assault rifle against a fist, a rock against a tank, and an unarmed innocent child against a grown armed man. More importantly, the occupation of Palestine clearly demonstrates the impact of “dirty” politics on innocent civilians. As mainstream media outlets provide great coverage of peace deals between israel and other Middle Eastern countries, they neglect the documentation of the poor living conditions the civilians of Gaza reside in. Therefore, here is what the media and Instagram reposts are not telling you; consecutive days of bombings are not the greatest problems for people in Gaza! The unfortunate reality is that Gaza has become almost completely inhabitable.
Eight years ago, the United Nations anticipated that by the year of 2020 Gaza will become an unlivable environment due to the israeli siege on the Gaza strip. In 2007, the siege on Gaza was officially put into force, however, many observers believe that it was effective for many years prior to 2007. The siege that was arguably initially meant to reprimand Hamas, became a form of collective punishment that innocent civilians are suffering from. The government of israel has implemented the blockade on the strip after Hamas, a political and military group in the area, attained high degrees of control over the Gaza strip. To put matters into perspective, israel has formed a blockade on Gaza’s sea, land, and air. In other terms, no one can enter or leave Gaza without permission from the israeli authorities, as the area is tightly controlled by the governments of israel and Egypt. It is significant to note that Egypt acted as a mediator which returned peace into the area in 2014, however, recent acts of violence from israeli military and Hamas makes the ceasefire’s effectiveness questionable.
Today, the reality of life in Gaza confirms that the United Nations’ prediction in 2012 is in fact highly accurate. Living conditions in Gaza are extremely poor as a result of israeli’s inhumane actions. To delve deeper, the government of israel has banned the entry of fuel into Gaza, meaning there is almost absolutely no electricity in the area. The city receives about four hours of electric power a day. A local child exclaimed “In Gaza, we love the mornings because the sun is our only source of light”. Amidst the global pandemic, israeli authorities are denying the entry of ventilators and other medical supplies into the city. The International Committee of the Red Cross declared that Gaza will not be able to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic.
Moreover, the constant israeli bombings of businesses as little as ice cream factories has exacerbated a terrible economic crisis that has over fifty percent of the population unemployed and 75 percent are living in poverty. To add on, Gaza is the third most densely populated area in the world. A land of 365 kilometers squared is a home to about 1,800,000 Palestinians. The dense population has significantly burdened the education system and created intense shortages of many resources such as medicine. Civilians in Gaza lack necessities as basic as sanitary water.
On top of the extremely poor living conditions in Gaza, israel has launched bombs on Hamas military bases for eleven consecutive days. These bombs were launched in response to arson balloon strikes from Hamas. In this sense, israeli forces attempt to characterize their airstrikes as an act of self-defense. This claim is considered illegal as the use of force in self-defense is only permitted under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter if the response is proportional to the initial attack and if the act of self-defense is authorized by the Security Council. Hamas launched 12 rockets, 9 of which were intercepted, causing minimal damage such as farm fires in israel. Conversely, israeli warplanes conducted three rounds of bombs on Gaza for eleven sequential nights.
israeli forces have launched a few ground invasions on the Gaza strip which caused permanent damage. The first ground invasion took place in 2008, it was followed by another one in 2012 and a final one in 2014. Each battle cost Palestinians thousands of people including children and women, as well as vital infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, power plants, etc. The israeli government’s claims of only attacking Hamas prove to be far from the truth. Innocent civilians are clearly targeted. Following every ground invasion, a mother loses her child, a husband loses his wife, and families lose their homes. Israeli occupation of Palestine is a clear defiance to international law, yet Palestinians are being the ones being punished and paying the price.