Gaza Part I

Israel began its  siege on the Gaza Strip following the victory of the Hamas movement in the legislative elections in January 2006,  tightening  it after the movement took military control of the Strip in June 2007.They then declared the Gaza Strip a “hostile entity” and imposed additional sanctions that severely affected the Gaza Strip – this included imposing severe restrictions on the entry of fuel and goods and the movement of individuals to and from the Strip. Over the years, the Israeli authorities have worked to establish a policy of isolating the Gaza Strip, by separating it from the Palestinian territories in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in addition to controlling the quantity and quality of goods and materials entering the Gaza Strip and banning hundreds of items.This caused a comprehensive economic recession in the sector, and a sharp rise in poverty and unemployment rates. Moreover, the Israeli blockade particularly affected the health sector in Gaza, as many basic medical items and supplies were not available, and many patients were forced to wait months for surgical operations. During the years of the siege, Israel launched four devastating military attacks on the Gaza Strip, resulting in the killing of thousands of civilians, the destruction of tens of thousands of homes and civilian facilities, and causing widespread destruction of infrastructure facilities.