Why Palestinians in Gaza have suffered for decades.
On October 7, Hamas, a militant group based in the Gaza Strip, launched a deadly attack on Israel, killing over 1,400 Israelis and kidnapping over 200. In retaliation, Israeli airstrikes have killed, as of this video, over 6,400 Palestinians in Gaza, where Palestinians have lived for decades under an occupation and blockade.
Since 1967, Israel has imposed tight restrictions on travel and essential goods such as food, fuel, medicine, and water in its occupied territories. In 2007, those restrictions became even tighter in Gaza after Hamas seized power there. Since then, it has been nearly impossible for Palestinians to leave Gaza or to access an adequate supply of essential goods.
Today, the Gaza Strip, with a population of over 2 million Palestinians, is a victim of what many call “collective punishment” as Israel bombards its population, shuts off access to internet, power, food, water, and medicine, forces them to leave their homes, and prepares for a ground invasion.
This latest episode of Vox Atlas explains how the experience of Palestinians in Gaza got to this point, and what’s behind Israel’s occupation and its blockade of Gaza.