Israeli occupation exacerbates suffering of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by tightening the blockade

Occupied Al-Quds, (ST) – The Israeli occupation continues to intensify its unjust siege imposed on the Gaza Strip for 16 years, by continuing to prevent the entry of food and medical supplies, humanitarian aid, fuel and raw materials for the various industries that stopped as a result of the blockade. 

The head of the Palestinian NGOs Network, Mohsen Abu Ramadan, indicated in a statement to SANA that, the continuous Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip for 16 years has led to collapses in the agricultural, industrial and service sectors, a deficit of electricity exceeding 60 percent. 

The Israeli siege also caused paralysis of work in 30 professions employing tens of thousands as a result of the lack of basic materials needed for those industries that suffered severe damage during the recent aggression.

The head of the Palestinian Businessmen Association in Gaza, Ali Al-Hayek, confirmed that 90 percent of the sector’s factories have stopped working and thousands of workers have been laid off due to the lack of raw materials, in addition to the destruction of more than 200 production facilities by the occupation during the last aggression, which caused huge losses. He pointed out that, the continuation of the unjust siege will have serious repercussions, and this requires urgent international intervention to work to lifting it.

The head of the International Commission for Supporting the Rights of the Palestinian People, Salah Abdel-Ati, said that, the occupation tightened its unjust siege imposed on the Gaza Strip after the recent aggression, which exacerbated the suffering of the Palestinians from poverty, unemployment and food insecurity.

Human rights researcher Hussein Hamad indicated that the Israeli blockade has caused a humanitarian catastrophe for more than two million Palestinians in the Strip, more than 70 percent of whom suffer from food insecurity and severe shortages of medicines and medical supplies.

He added that, about a quarter of a million Palestinians whose homes were totally or partially damaged during the recent aggression are unable to rebuild and repair these homes in light of the continuation of the siege.

Member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine Mahmoud Khalaf said that, the Gaza Strip is suffering under a suffocating Israeli siege that has affected all aspects of life, while the world stands idly by before the crime of siege, which represents a full-fledged war crime. He called on the international community to break its silence and pressure the occupation to lift its unjust siege imposed on Gaza Strip.

Raghda Sawas