Opinion | Israel-Hamas war: the toll of war on every aspect of children’s lives in Gaza
- In the densely populated Gaza Strip, the health needs of children have grown exponentially from the Israeli blockade that was first imposed in 2007
- Israel’s actions in the last week are an extension of 16 years of killing both children’s bodies and their hopes through its blockade
Children living in Gaza have never known anything but overcrowding, shortages, conflict and danger.
It has been 18 years since the then-Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, moved all Israel’s settlers and military personnel out of the Gaza Strip. The country’s official narrative then became that they were no longer an occupying force.
But two years later, following the election of Hamas, the Israeli government imposed a blockade on the entire Gaza Strip.
So today’s 18-year-olds have suffered in a state of privation for pretty much their whole lives.
Relocation of settlers and soldiers and the imposition of the blockade did not release Israel from its responsibility under international law towards the civilian population in Gaza. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, Israel is still “bound by certain obligations under the law of occupation”. As detailed in article 55 of the fourth Geneva convention, this includes ensuring that the population of Gaza receives food, medicines and other basic goods.