Gaza aid has increased substantially since the December 2009 Gaza War when the Israeli army invaded the Hamas-run territory in an attempt to put an end to the torrent of rocket attacks on its cities and civilians. The coastal enclave has been under siege since the Hamas militant organization was elected into power in 2007, making it difficult to transfer aid into the coastal territory. Israel has enforced a blockade, preventing the import of basic necessities and Gaza aid from European and international aid agencies with the fear that Gaza aid money will be used by Hamas to increase its terrorist activities against Israeli civilians.
After the end of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, Arab states organized a donors’ conference in Egypt in order to raise funds for Gaza aid. Gaza’s infrastructure suffered terrible destruction during Operation Cast Lead, and the Gaza aid is meant to help the people of Gaza rebuild after the devastating conflict; however, Israel and the United States expressed reservations that any Gaza aid much be handed to nongovernmental organizations and the Palestinian Authority and must not reach the hands of Hamas.
In addition, there have been attempts by pro-Palestinian Gaza aid groups from Europe and North America to break through Israel’s blockade of the strip. These attempts to bring in Gaza aid have been unsuccessful and only resulted in occasional confrontations between activists and Israeli authorities and their deportation, such as the deadly attack on the Turkish-flagged Gaza aid ship Mavi Marmara in May 2010, in which 9 Islamic activists were killed after the ship refused to adhere to Israel Defense Forces instructions.
Continued pressure on the Strip will lead to an explosion, an Israeli ground operation with heavy casualties, followed by desperate negotiations over who will assume responsibility for Gaza's population – or in other words, a return to square one
Despite the positive diplomatic developments and improved conditions in the Strip in recent days, a leading activist told Haaretz that the marches will continue until the blockade on Gaza is totally removed
The agreement was made possible after Israel negotiated with Qatar and received guarantees that the money will be transferred only for salary payments
With 43 Olympic swimming pools worth of sewage water flowing from Gaza toward Israel and Egypt daily, researchers say local epidemic is only a matter of time
Lacking the willingness to put political pressure on Israel, the Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee will be discussing the scenario of further economical deterioration of the Palestinian economy
Netanyahu supports breaking up the UN agency, which he says perpetuates the refugee status of the Palestinians
According to the Israel Television News Company, Trump administration will also announce freezing funding to UNRWA in the West Bank and asking Israel to limit its activities
When the UN chief ignores Hamas and highlights another one-sided mandate focused only on Palestinian civilians, he once again makes the body he represents irrelevant for Israel and dangerous for Palestinians
Only 193 trucks entered Gaza from Israel, down from 508 the week before. It remains unclear how much this matters given the dire economic situation and the lack of residents' purchasing power
It’s doubtful that the Israeli arsenal has a means for deterring 2 million people under brutal closure for 11 years now