Occupation of the Gaza Strip by Egypt truce was achieved. Israeli forces proceeded to withdraw from Sinai and Gaza. On 24 February 1949, the Israel–Egypt Armistice Agreement was signed in Rhodes. Under the agreement, the armistice line was drawn along the international border (dating back to 1906) for the most part, except near the Mediterranean Sea, where Egypt remained in control of a strip of land along the coast, which became known as the Gaza Strip. (See 1949 Armistice Agreements.) The All-Palestine Government was an entity established by the Arab League on 22 September 1948, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, purportedly to provide a Palestinian government for
Blockade of the Gaza Strip situation in the Gaza Strip was more acute than at any time since the beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967. While critical of Palestinian militants firing rockets from Gaza into Israel, and acknowledging that "Israel has the right and obligation to protect its citizens", they said that as the "occupying power in Gaza" it also has a legal duty to ensure Gaza civilians have access to food, clean water, electricity and medical care. They urged Israel to lift the blockade, characterizing it as collective punishment against the 1.5 million residents of the territory. According to the International Committee of