The government of Israel, in response to one of the largest terrorist actions by Hamas, promised to act decisively. The Minister of Defense of Israel announced that the consequence of this was the complete blockade of the Gaza Strip. As soon as it was officially announced, accusations began that civilians would be the first to suffer. How does the world look at this? And does Tel Aviv not expose itself to condemnation by the international community?
What is the Gaza Strip?
The Gaza Strip is a territory with an area of 363 square meters, a length of about 41 km, and a width of 6 to 12 km. These lands are bordered by neighbors on all sides:
– in the east and north – a separate fence with checkpoints to the territory of Israel;
– in the south and west – a concrete wall on land on the border with Egypt.
This territory was allocated by the UN for the Arab state of Palestine in 1947. However, the state did not rule here because most of the time since its formation, the territory was under occupation:
– 1948-1967 – occupation by Egypt;
– 1967-2005 – occupation by Israel.
According to the official agreement since 1993, Israel provides military control over the airspace and some land borders of this territory, and Egypt – over other land borders.
In 2005, the Israeli authorities withdrew their military units from the Gaza Strip. Two years later, there was a coup, after which control over the region was seized by the Hamas movement.
As of 2023, this territory is one of the most densely populated in the world: about 2.3 million people live here, and a third of them are refugees from Israel and their descendants who left the country during the Arab-Israeli war of 1947-1949.
Why is it so cruel?
The Minister of Defense of Israel unequivocally stated that the answer to the terror from Hamas will be a complete blockade of the Strip, which provides:
– complete disconnection from the electricity supply system;
– closure of all border checkpoints through which products, medicines, etc. are delivered;
– overlapping the irrigation systems, which is critically important in a hot climate.
A real humanitarian crisis is already underway. There are many reports of wounded people who cannot be given medical aid due to the impossibility of ambulances arriving during airstrikes, due to a lack of surgical equipment in the required quantity, etc.
What about the UN?
The UN Security Council met behind closed doors, after which it was announced that the organization failed to give a collective condemnation of the terrible attack on Israel by Hamas because not all members supported such a decision. As the representative from the USA Wood said: “You can guess who is one of these members.”
