Not a single drop of aid has made it into the entirely aid-dependent Gaza Strip since 2 March.
On the second day of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, Israel announced the closure of all crossings and passages into Gaza, stopping the entry of all goods and supplies into the Strip in order to pressure Hamas into accepting new terms that violate the ceasefire agreement between the two sides.
On 19 January, a three-phase prisoner-swap agreement between Israel and Hamas went into effect, halting Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza which has lasted for 15 months and killed more than 46,000 Palestinians with tens of thousands more still missing.
The intense bombardment of the Strip by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) has destroyed 90 per cent of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure, leaving it entirely dependent on humanitarian aid supplies that can only enter the enclave through passages and crossings that are controlled by Israel.
Most Palestinians in the Strip have been displaced from their homes, and many need shelter. Fuel is needed to keep hospitals, water pumps, bakeries, and telecommunications, as well as trucks delivering aid, operating.
The first phase of the agreement between Israel and Hamas is a six-week ceasefire, during which Hamas will release 33 Israeli hostages, and Israel will free 1,904 Palestinian prisoners, allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, and facilitate the return of displaced Palestinians.
According to the agreement, the subsequent phases focus on a permanent ceasefire, full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the release of all hostages and prisoners, with international mediation to ensure compliance.
But in the weeks leading up to the expiry of the first phase, Israel refused to move on to negotiations of the ensuing stages of the ceasefire agreement. Instead, it pushed to extend the first stage to guarantee the release of all its hostages without withdrawing its military forces from Gaza or permanently ending the war.
When Hamas insisted on the terms of the original agreement, Israel responded with the collective punishment of Gaza Strip’s entire population.
With zero goods and essential supplies entering Gaza for ten days, the Israeli closures have directly exacerbated severe shortages of essential goods, driven up prices, and intensified the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“A bottle of water is 150 shekels ($41), one kg of gas is 100 shekels ($27), and a kg of chicken is 80 shekels ($23),” said Eman Ouda, a citizen journalist in Gaza City. “Commodities are available, but most people can only look at them with empty hands, unable to afford even the basics.”
“In Gaza, Ramadan is no longer a time of joy and generosity; instead, it has become a month of unimaginable suffering.”
Families have to share tiny portions of food for Iftar meals when Muslims break the daily fast at sunset. The meal could comprise just a bowl of soup or a few dates, Ouda said.
On 9 March, Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen ordered an immediate halt to electricity supplies to Gaza, severely impacting its infrastructure.
The shutdown of a key desalination plant, which serves over 600,000 residents, has led to a life-threatening water shortage. Legal experts and humanitarian organisations argue that this action amounts to collective punishment, a war crime under international law. The White House immediately backed Israel’s decisions to block aid and electricity to Gaza.
The deliberate withholding of food, water, and medical supplies has been widely condemned by international organisations. The United Nations has warned that these actions constitute a violation of international humanitarian law.
France and Germany have voiced particular concern over Israel’s use of starvation as a method of warfare. French President Emmanuel Macron denounced the targeting of civilians attempting to access food, calling it “unjustifiable,” while German officials condemned the blockade as a clear breach of international law.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is deteriorating rapidly, warned Mustafa Al-Barghouti, a prominent Palestinian politician. The absence of energy is already causing serious shortages of clean water, which will lead to serious diseases. Newborns and other patients continue to die due to the lack of vital medical supplies.
The use of starvation as a weapon is explicitly prohibited under the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, which ban the targeting of resources essential for civilian survival. UN Security Council Resolution 2417 (2018) condemns the denial of humanitarian access as a method of warfare. Additionally, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) classifies the intentional starvation of civilians as a war crime.
On 21 November last year, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, charging them with war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict.
The charges include using starvation as a method of warfare, murder, persecution, and the intentional targeting of civilians. The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber found reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant were co-perpetrators of these crimes between 8 October 2023 and 20 May 2024.
US President Donald Trump’s Special Mideast Envoy Steve Witkoff is due to visit the region in the next few days to discuss extending the ceasefire or moving ahead to phase two, the State Department said on Monday.
During the ceasefire, which lasted for 42 days, the IOF continued to violate its terms, having killed more than 100 Palestinians. A war on the Occupied West Bank has ensued.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 13 March, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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