On Saturday, Hamas broke down the border fence from Gaza to Israel and launched a terrorist attack. On Tuesday, Israel took control of the border crossing att. – I have ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, food, petrol, everything will be closed, said Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday. In 2007, when Hamas gained control of Gaza, Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade of the Gaza Strip, but allowed humanitarian aid to flow in. Israel also controls the surrounding sea area, in addition to the two border crossings to Israel. Egypt controls the third. The World Health Organization (WHO) is asking on Tuesday for a humanitarian corridor out of Gaza, to get medicine in and civilians out. The medical warehouse is said to have been used up, and the organization reports 13 attacks against health facilities in the Gaza Strip since the campaign began on Saturday. Josep Borrell, head of foreign policy in the EU, says the foreign ministers in the EU are asking Israel not to cut off access to water, food and electricity to Gaza. – There is no one who does not understand that Israel must react, but the civilian population in Gaza pays the price. That’s according to Anja Riiser, former country director in Palestine for Norwegian People’s Aid. Israel is said to have attacked 200 targets in the Gaza Strip on the night of Tuesday, according to the Israeli defense. Photo: Shadi Tabatibi / Reuters – Where are they going? A spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces advises people to get out of Gaza, across the border into Egypt. But Egypt has closed its borders due to attacks in the area, according to The National News. Anja Riiser worked for four years for Norwegian People’s Aid, and lived in Gaza. This summer she moved back to Norway. Several people she knows have been killed in the attack: – Colleagues send messages and ask for help. – Soon the current will disappear, and then you won’t be shown how improbable hell this is. Aid organizations report that people are in shock, and are trying to find safe places to stay. Over 100,000 are said to have sought shelter in UN shelters. – They are told to evacuate, but how are they going to get out? And where will they go? And are they allowed to return to the area when this is over? – I have worked with war and conflict for ten years, been involved in a lot, but this is absolutely the most damning thing, says Riiser. Close to 200,000 are said to be internally displaced in Gaza. Many seek refuge in UN schools. Photo: SAID KHATIB / AFP A closed area Inside Gaza there live approximately 2.1 million people, of which 1.7 million are Palestinian refugees. According to the UN, 80 percent of the inhabitants are dependent on humanitarian aid, and half of all who live there are children. 95 percent of the population does not have access to clean drinking water. The area is extremely closed, and many Palestinians have never crossed the border posts. It is almost impossible to travel in and out of the area. On Saturday, Hamas took over 100 Israelis hostage, and placed them in various locations around Gaza. In response to the attack by Hamas, Israel has attacked Gaza. On the night of Tuesday, Israel attacked over 200 targets. 1,500 Hamas fighters are said to have been found dead in Israel and around the Gaza Strip, according to the Israeli army on Tuesday. In addition to that, Reuters reports 770 dead inside Gaza and over 4,000 injured Palestinians. In Israel, over 1,000 are said to have been killed, and 3,400 injured. Israel has cut both the electricity and the water supply in Gaza. Photo: MAHMUD HAMS / AFP Hamas conducts systematic oppression Hamas has ruled Gaza since 2007. Last year, the human rights organization Human Rights Watch reported systematic oppression of Palestinians in Gaza. – Freedom of organization and freedom of expression is limited, in addition to the fact that women’s rights are limited. Political opposition is to a small extent tolled, says Riiser. In 2021, an opinion poll from The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research showed that about half of Palestinians believed that Hamas should represent and hire the Palestinian people. Two years later, support should have increased to 58 percent in Gaza and 42 percent in the West Bank. It is unknown how much support Hamas has after these attacks. Riiser believes both Hamas’ rule and Israel as an occupying power can explain why half express support: – When an area has been occupied for several decades, you don’t get a liberal population. The brutality of the war and conflict make the population more radical, she says. Humanitarian support The Palestinian territories have been dependent on humanitarian support for several decades. After Hamas attacked Israel, Denmark stopped development aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs the West Bank. Borrell in the EU says at the same time that an “overwhelming majority” of the foreign ministers in the EU opposed cutting aid to Palestine. The Danish development minister, Dan Jørgensen, says that they will go through their aid to non-profit organizations and ensure that no money directly or indirectly goes to Hamas. On Tuesday, Sweden also said that they are temporarily suspending aid to Palestine. The EU will hold a crisis meeting on Tuesday afternoon about how the development support for the Palestinian Authority will be organised. Hear also:
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