A Year On: 'Israel Continues to Starve Gaza but Fails to Create an Administrative Void' (Exclusive)

As a full year passes since the ongoing Israeli massacre that began on October 7, 2023, Ismail al-Thawabta, Director General of the Government Media Office in Gaza, described the humanitarian and health conditions in the Strip as “catastrophic.”

In an interview with Al-Estiklal, al-Thawabta spoke about the Israeli Occupation's persistent destruction of all means of life in Gaza, making it increasingly difficult to save lives, especially with most hospitals out of service.

He addressed the impact of the Rafah Crossing closure on the lives of thousands of wounded and sick individuals, who have been left to their fate due to the lack of medicines and medical supplies for their treatment.

Al-Thawabta also discussed the security situation in the Strip and the government's efforts to mitigate the effects of aggression by deploying police forces, organizing markets, and regulating prices, alongside the ongoing presence of the wounded and martyrs and the challenges facing these operations.

As a Palestinian journalist, al-Thawabta is the Director General of the Government Media Office in Gaza, which functions as the Ministry of Information in the region. The office consistently issues updates related to the number of martyrs, the wounded, and the humanitarian situation.

Humanitarian Situation

• What is the daily amount of aid entering Gaza, what are its sources, and how does it arrive?

For 147 days, no aid has entered the Gaza Strip following the closure of the Rafah Crossing, which the Israeli Occupation forces destroyed, rendering it inoperable. The Kerem Shalom crossing is also closed, further blocking any assistance from reaching the region.

The Gaza Strip has been under an unjust siege for 18 consecutive years, with the Israeli Occupation preventing hundreds of types and varieties of goods and commodities from entering.

Before the onset of the genocide, around 600 trucks of goods, commodities, and aid entered Gaza daily.

However, when the genocide began, the Israeli Occupation halted all aid imports completely and publicly.

Hundreds of thousands of tons of aid are piled up on the other side of the crossing. Still, the Israeli Occupation refuses to allow their entry as part of its strategy to pressure civilians through starvation tactics.

Today, some international organizations are attempting to bring in a minimal amount of aid that covers less than 1 percent of the needs of our Palestinian people.

• Gaza is facing a disaster with the arrival of winter. What is needed today to prevent or mitigate this?

This is true, and we have clarified this dozens of times through press conferences, statements, daily announcements, interviews, and various media appearances. Today, we reiterate this message through Al-Estiklal.

We urgently appeal for the rescue of two million displaced people in Gaza before it's too late, as severe weather and the harsh winter season approach.

We are talking about the increasing number of displaced individuals daily due to the intensifying targeting of residential neighborhoods by the Israeli Occupation, with the total number of displaced persons in the Gaza Strip reaching two million.

In Gaza, we have 543 shelters for the displaced due to the Israeli crime of forced displacement, a crime against humanity that forces citizens to leave their homes and safe neighborhoods, in violation of international law.

This reality compels us to state that 74% of the tents for the displaced are no longer fit for use, according to assessments from government field evaluation teams.

They informed us that 100,000 tents out of 135,000 need immediate replacement due to their complete deterioration, as they are made of wood, nylon, and fabric.

These tents have deteriorated due to the sun's heat and the harsh conditions in Gaza, rendering them completely unusable, especially after 11 consecutive months of displacement in these inhumane conditions.

In reality, Gaza is facing a true humanitarian disaster due to the onset of winter and difficult weather conditions, leaving a million people without any shelter, and forced to sleep on the ground and under the sky.

This situation arises from the deterioration of the displaced tents and their complete disuse, as well as the closure of the crossings leading to Gaza and the Israeli Occupation’s refusal to allow approximately a quarter of a million tents and caravans into the area amid this grim reality.

Therefore, it is imperative to stand by our Palestinian people, and we urge the Republic of Turkiye, the Arab Republic of Egypt, all Arab and Islamic countries, and the Gulf Cooperation Council to facilitate the entry of aid and tents.

Those affected are now preparing to live on the streets without assistance or shelter due to the harsh conditions they face and will continue to face in the coming months, which will have severe repercussions on their lives and circumstances.

In this regard, we call on the international community, all international and global organizations, and relevant institutions to break their silence and provide immediate and urgent relief to the two million displaced individuals who are in desperate need of adequate shelter to protect them from the cold of winter and the heat of summer.

Also, there must be pressure on the Israeli Occupation and the Americans to stop the crime of genocide against our Palestinian people in Gaza.

Health Sector

• What’s the current state of Gaza’s health sector after the Israeli Occupation disabled 34 hospitals? How severe is the shortage of medicines and medical equipment?

The health system in Gaza has collapsed under the targeting, destruction, and burning of hospitals by the Israeli Occupation.

As a result, the Palestinian citizen is experiencing an extremely critical level of suffering due to the lack of health services.

To illustrate this, we can mention that hundreds of pregnant Palestinian women have had to give birth in their homes without the slightest degree of safety for their newborns.

This occurs amid a disaster of pollution in Gaza resulting from the genocide and the Israeli Occupation's plan to incapacitate the health system.

The situation is similar for dozens of patients who are unable to reach any hospital as they have become non-existent.

The Israeli Occupation has prevented the entry of medicines and treatments for 147 days since it completely closed all crossings and tightened the siege on Gaza.

• How many patients and injured people urgently need evacuation for treatment? Can you provide us with some statistics?

The Israeli Occupation has barred 25,000 patients and wounded individuals from traveling, resulting in the tragic loss of dozens who were denied the chance to seek treatment abroad; it’s a crime.

Now, there are hundreds of thousands of patients in Gaza in urgent need of treatment, including 10,000 cancer patients and over 35,000 patients with chronic diseases.

All these individuals are facing the grim prospect of death as they suffer from a lack of medicines and treatments that the Israeli Occupation has prevented from entering since the start of its genocide, especially over the past 147 days, not to mention the situation inside what remains of hospitals and medical centers, extremely dire.

There are no surgeries in the true sense of the word, and emergency procedures are being performed by doctors without supplies, tools, or sterilization.

This poses a real danger to both the patients' lives and the doctors, who are also at risk of infection and disease.

Thus, the situation in Gaza is catastrophic in every sense of the word.

There are no hospitals, no medicines, no treatments, and no medical supplies. Consequently, the world must act to save the sector before it is too late.

Government Efforts

• What about the government personnel in Gaza? What services are they providing amid this tragedy?

The Palestinian government in Gaza continues to deliver services to citizens under the emergency plan that was implemented alongside the ongoing Israeli genocide on October 7, 2023.

Currently, more than 18,000 government employees are actively engaged across various sectors, ministries, and governmental institutions that continue to function during the war. These include providing medical and health services through the Ministry of Health.

Security and police services are also provided through the Ministry of Interior and National Security, along with local services such as water supply, waste management, and maintenance of sewage networks, overseen by the Ministry of Local Government and municipalities.

This is in addition to other services including social aid through the Ministry of Social Development and the regulation of goods, commodities, and markets via the Ministry of National Economy.

Media services are also provided, including the distribution of press statements from the government media office, and religious services and mosque activities are facilitated by the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, as well as the Ministry of Finance, among others.

• How is the process of retrieving the bodies of martyrs conducted amid equipment shortages and targeting?

Ambulances and the Palestinian Civil Defense are responsible for providing humanitarian and civil services in Gaza, and they should be protected under international law.

Ambulances from the health sector are tasked with retrieving the bodies of martyrs following each massacre, alongside the Civil Defense, which is the only body that retrieves bodies, especially from under rubble and destroyed buildings.

However, the Israeli Occupation forces have targeted these humanitarian and civil service agencies for an entire year.

More than 130 ambulances have been destroyed, along with hundreds of vehicles and Civil Defense equipment, leaving over 80 percent of their capabilities out of service.

Consequently, these agencies are struggling to fulfill their duties with extremely limited resources, facing clear and deliberate obstacles from the Israeli Occupation to maximize civilian casualties.

Due to the significant challenges and obstacles, there are nearly 10,000 martyrs and missing persons trapped under the rubble and in destroyed buildings that humanitarian teams have been unable to retrieve.

Security Situation

• How would you describe the security situation in Gaza given the Israeli Occupation's targeting of police forces, and what roles are these forces currently fulfilling?

Undoubtedly, the security situation has significantly deteriorated during the genocide due to the targeting of police agencies in the Gaza Strip, even though the police force is, according to international law, a purely civilian agency protected by legal statutes.

However, the Israeli Occupation has killed more than 800 police officers during this genocide, as they are being directly and deliberately targeted.

The role of the Palestinian police in Gaza encompasses tasks related to securing displaced persons.

They also address family disputes, pursue thieves, and investigate cases of theft affecting tents, homes, and aid trucks.

They work to protect personnel from international and local organizations, as well as to locate missing individuals, including children and citizens, and reunite them with their families.

The police oversee market issues, manage traffic, protect hospitals, and pursue traders who inflate prices, while addressing concerns related to Palestinian families and managing their disputes, including the custody of children between the parents.

• How successful have you been in controlling prices and preventing monopolies? Is there a mechanism to hold traders accountable for price gouging and monopolization?

Since the onset of the Israeli genocide, government teams have demonstrated a high capacity to regulate market activity, effectively controlling prices and preventing monopolization.

However, the Israeli Occupation's targeting of all government teams in an attempt to create an administrative, governmental, and operational vacuum has directly impacted the availability of effective government performance in certain situations, particularly in safeguarding our teams from Israeli bombardment and targeting.

Nevertheless, we have managed to pursue traders who were inflating prices in the markets, imposing limits on them, and significantly regulating the situation. Many of these traders have faced strict penalties.

Currently, our teams are operating with extreme caution while monitoring their field activities. Thus, the Israeli Occupation's plan to create an administrative, governmental, and operational vacuum has failed.