The siege of Gaza is now one of the longest and most destructive in modern history, rewiring everyday life for over two million people shut inside the enclave. Israel has imposed overarching restrictions on Gaza’s land borders, seafront, and skies since 2007. What was initially a policy cast in terms of security measures expanded into an all-encompassing siege that touches all areas of civilian life, leaving ordinary citizens to bear the brunt of it.
The roots of the blockade are in the years after Hamas’s capture of Gaza. Israel answered with reinforced limits on the movement of goods and individuals, increasingly limiting even essential items. With time, military incursions and sustained confrontations reduced Gaza’s infrastructure to nothing. The blockade has been characterized by human rights groups as collective punishment, noting that international law calls on an occupying power to provide for the people in its control.
The humanitarian consequences are staggering. Food, fuel, medicine, and other essentials are frequently blocked or severely limited, pushing people to the brink of famine. Aid groups report that the majority of food shipments never make it into Gaza, leaving families surviving on as little as one meal every other day. Hospitals that once served as lifelines now struggle to function, with fewer than half still operating in any capacity.
Of 36 large hospitals, fewer than 20 are still half-open, and medical supplies are running rapidly low. Essential hygiene items are in short supply, depriving millions of women of essentials. The devastation of bakeries, water networks, and sanitation units has further exacerbated the crisis, displacing millions into temporary refuge while over half of all housing has been leveled or ruined.
Children have been the most affected. Experts say almost half a million are suffering from catastrophic levels of hunger, and malnutrition is rapidly spreading. Minor illnesses in children under five can turn lethal when combined with food shortages and medicine deprivation. Pregnant women and lactating mothers are also vulnerable, with thousands likely to develop acute malnutrition in the coming months. The long-term consequences—prevented growth, compromised immunity, and damaged learning—are poised to leave a permanent mark on a whole generation.
Occupying powers are required under international law to see to it that civilians get food and medicine. Starvation as a weapon of war is specifically prohibited. Nevertheless, the blockade continues, eliciting repeated condemnation from humanitarian organizations and legal analysts. International tribunals have initiated probes, with war crimes and even genocide charges under review.
Efforts to breach the blockade have been dramatic. Humanitarian aid flotillas with food and supplies have continually attempted to travel to Gaza by sea, regularly intercepted by Israeli naval vessels before they can arrive. One of the most notorious was the 2010 attack on the Mavi Marmara, which resulted in bloodshed. Despite this, activists from many dozens of nations still stage convoys and solidarity missions, resolute in highlighting what they believe is an illegal and inhumane blockade.
For several months, a few aid shipments have passed through under total blockades lasting weeks. But humanitarian officials emphasize that such shipments are far short of what is required to support millions in need. Israel contends that limits are imposed to keep armed groups from diverting the aid, but relief agencies reply that the present system does not live up to the principles of independence and neutrality that are at the heart of humanitarian activities.
Simultaneously, the fighting itself does not indicate slowing down. Military operations, bombardments, and large-scale evacuations all continue to uproot hundreds of thousands, and civilian casualties rise into the thousands.
The declared military objective of dismantling Hamas has exacted a huge human price, with civilians bearing the brunt of the pain. Aid agencies caution that with no complete humanitarian access and the blockade lifted, deaths due to hunger and disease could soon match deaths due to bombs and bullets.
Gaza today is a grim illustration of how siege warfare rages through civilian life in the contemporary world. Whole societies have been brought down to a survival level, isolated from the rest of the world, and compelled to suffer conditions characterized as the world’s largest open-air prison. The crisis calls on the international community to make a defining decision: to act in defense of international law and human dignity, or to stand idly by as one of the most severe humanitarian catastrophes in our history becomes even deeper.