Al Jazeera
Israel-Palestine conflict
Israel’s blockade of Gaza passes 60th day
No food, water or medical supplies have been allowed to enter the Gaza Strip since March 2.
Israel’s total blockade of Gaza has passed its 60th day, deepening the hunger crisis in the coastal enclave, as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) held a third day of hearings into Israel’s humanitarian obligations to Palestinians.
The continued blockade is the longest such closure the Gaza Strip has ever faced, and came as Israeli forces continued bombarding the territory, killing at least 30 Palestinians on Wednesday alone.
It has prompted warnings of famine, with the remaining charity kitchens across the Strip warning they may have to close down within days if aid is not allowed in.
“We have 70-80 community kitchens still working in Gaza … In four to five days, these community kitchens will close their doors,” Amjad Shawa, the director of the Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) in Gaza, told the Reuters news agency.
Shawa put the number of operational community kitchens in Gaza before the crossings closed at about 170.
He said an additional 15 kitchens closed down on Monday.
Since March 2, Israel has barred all supplies, including food, water and medicine from entering Gaza, in a bid to force Hamas into renegotiating the ceasefire deal agreed in January.
Israel wants the Palestinian group to release the remaining Israeli captives held in Gaza in exchange for humanitarian aid, an extended truce and more Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. But Hamas has insisted on an Israeli commitment to a permanent ceasefire, saying any “partial deals” will allow Israel to resume the killing in Gaza.
Israel then abandoned the ceasefire and resumed bombarding Gaza on March 18, killing at least 2,308 people in attacks on tents, hospitals and school-turned-shelters. The death toll since October 2023, when the war began, has crossed 52,000 people. Another 118,014 have been wounded.
