Alwaght - A recent UN report indicates that the number of people living in Gaza is expected rise to more than double over the next 30 years. While-- for some-- demographic changes may lead to opportunities for development, reality suggests a bleak insight into the future. As long as the Israeli regime's blockade remains unscathed, this growth will further exacerbate the suffering wrought by the decades-long occupation.
Although Gaza was not the victim of a direct Israeli war in 2016, the magnitude of damage left by previous ones has left Palestinians living there suffering even more. At the same time, the Israeli regime persisted with its relentless policies, indiscriminately shelling locations in Gaza and firing across the border, as well as continuing the suffocating blockade through various means all the while exonerating itself from the crimes it has committed against Palestinians. Retrospectively, several incidents have been recorded to overview Gaza in 2016.
On October 5, the Israeli maritime force intercepted a boat carrying female pro-Palestinian activists trying to break the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. The boat was sponsored by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, a group of pro-Palestinian groups based mostly in Europe. The Dutch-registered vessel was carrying 13 activists headed by Mairead Maguire, an Irish Nobel peace prize laureate.
The incident occurred on the same day as the Israeli air force struck a series of targets in Gaza in response to the firing of a Palestinian rocket. There were no reports of injuries on either side.
Earlier in September, the Israeli war ministry announced work on a wall deep underground along the border with Gaza. The barrier will eventually extend to about 37 miles along the border with Gaza and will be equipped with sensors. It was designed to replace the existing walls and fences bordering the coastal enclave, which is home to 1.8 million Palestinians. Reports in the Israeli media have suggested that the wall will cost close to $600m (£451m).
On August 24, more Israelis got away unpunished for the war crimes they have committed. The Israeli military cleared its forces of wrongdoing in a string of deadly incidents that took place during the 2014 Gaza war – including an airstrike that killed 15 members of a single family and the bombing of a United Nations school. The only reason the Israelis went to court in the first place was because of a Palestinian case to press for war crimes charges against the Israelis at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. One of the incidents in question is that of an airstrike on Rafahon where 15 members of Zoroub family were massacred in August 2014.
Earlier that month, dozens of strikes were launched against Gaza in response to a rocket fired from the strip to Sderot. Up to fifty attacks were carried against Palestinian factions as artillery shells also hit the area of al-Bureij in central Gaza and Beit Hanoun in the north. Several Palestinians, including a 17-year-old boy, were wounded.
On August 5, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade suspended funding of World Vision programs in Palestine. This was due to Israeli claims that the program was funding Hamas. The World Vision Australia chief executive, Tim Costello, said the charity was “mystified” by the charges given that independent audits had found its programs in the Palestine were clean. The Israeli Shin Bet, however, alleged otherwise. It is widely believed that this is just another Israeli manoeuvre to prevent humanitarian aid from reaching Palestinians, furthering tightening the noose around Gaza.
Also in May, a Palestinian woman was killed when Israeli shelling hit al-Fakhri area east of Khan Yunis. The 54-year old Palestinian was sitting at her farm when the shelling struck.
In March, two Palestinians- a boy and his sister- were killed when they were hit by fragments from a missile fired by an Israeli aircraft. Residents of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip said Yassin Abu Khoussa, 10, died after debris from the explosion hit his home while his six-year-old sister, Israa, later died in hospital from wounds she had sustained.
Throughout the year, rockets were fired back and forth between the Israeli occupation forces and Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip. Many Palestinians have been either wounded or killed while their properties have been frequently damaged. Despite Israeli allegations that their targets have been military, most of the casualties have been civilians.
Meanwhile, the Israeli-imposed siege on Gaza, which refers to a land, air, and sea blockade in force since 2007, remained in effect. Palestinians continued to struggle in 2016 as a result of this blockade, which Egypt also supports, with the economy suffering and a growing humanitarian crisis. With a new year around the corner, Palestinians in Gaza hope that their suffering would be alleviated, if not come to an end once and for all.
