A study conducted by a coalition of 8 British-based human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Save the Children, has reported that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is at its worst since Israel occupied the territory in 1967. The news comes just days after Israeli raids killed over 120 Palestinians, most of them innocent civilians.

After Hamas expelled the US/Israeli-backed Fatah Party for planning a coup against the democratically elected government, Israel closed Gaza’s borders and allowed only shipments of vital goods into the occupied territory. The report has found that more than 80 percent of Gaza’s 1.1 million people are now dependent on food aid, and that unemployment has risen to 40 percent after 70 percent of private sector workers lost their jobs. Hospitals are also suffering from power cuts of up to 12 hours a day due to the blockade, and water and sewage systems are close to collapse. Children make up more than 50 percent of Gaza’s population, and 70 percent of children under one year old are anemic.

The human rights organizations called on Israel to end its collective punishment of Gazans. Hamas has previously offered a ceasefire in exchange for an end to the blockade, but Israel has refused. Kate Allen, the UK director of Amnesty international said, “Punishing the entire Gazan population by denying them these basic human rights is utterly indefensible. The current situation is man-made and must be reversed.” As is standard practice, Israel rejected the findings of the report and blamed all the hardships they’ve imposed on Hamas.

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