Blockade of the Gaza Strip Blockade of the Gaza Strip The blockade of the Gaza Strip is the ongoing land, air, and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip imposed by Israel and Egypt since 2007. The system of control imposed by Israel is sometimes known as the indirect occupation of the Gaza Strip. One year after the 2005 disengagement from the Gaza Strip by Israel, Hamas won the Palestinian legislative election, and Israel and the Quartet on the Middle East ceased providing aid to the Palestinian Authority and imposed sanctions against the PA, because Hamas would not agree to the conditions for continued aid: namely,
Gaza Strip In response, Israel targeted Qassam launchers and military targets and declared the Gaza Strip a hostile entity. In January 2008, Israel curtailed travel from Gaza, the entry of goods, and cut fuel supplies, resulting in power shortages. This brought charges that Israel was inflicting collective punishment on the Gaza population, leading to international condemnation. Despite multiple reports from within the Strip that food and other essentials were in short supply, Israel said that Gaza had enough food and energy supplies for weeks. The Israeli government uses economic means to pressure Hamas. Among other things, it caused Israeli commercial enterprises like