Living conditions in Gaza 'reach 40-year low'
06/03/2008
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is the direst it has been since the 1967 six-day war that saw Israel recapture the territory from Egypt, a coalition of aid agencies has said.
Despite former prime minister Ariel Sharon officially withdrawing Israeli troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005, the exclave remains subject to an ongoing blockade and Palestinians are all but barred from entering Israel proper.
Israel has defended its isolation of Gaza, arguing that the region serves as a springboard for Palestinian terrorists who seek to smuggle explosives and weapons into the country.
Between the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 and the end of the second intifadah in 2002, well over 100 suicide bombings were carried out within the Jewish state.
The frequency of such incidents has petered off markedly over the past three years, however - something which Israeli officials accredit solely to their hard-line security approach.
But according to the new report - Gaza Strip: A Humanitarian Implosion - Israel's blockade has also led to a dramatic surge in poverty and unemployment, with three quarters of Gazans now dependent on food aid.
"Unless the blockade ends now, it will be impossible to pull Gaza back from the brink of this disaster and any hopes for peace in the region will be dashed," the report stated.
Its release coincides with a disturbing spike in violence across the region.
Over 120 Palestinians were killed last week following Israeli reprisals for cross-border rocket attacks, while last month the Jewish state suffered its first suicide bombing in over a year.
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