Israel closes in on Gaza after occupying all land borders

GAZA CITY, Palestine

The Israeli army has occupied the entire land border with Gaza, after taking control of a demilitarized buffer zone running along Egypt.

In a briefing on Wednesday, military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the army has taken "operational control" of the Philadelphi Corridor.

The army said its forces have cordoned off the entire border to Gaza except a small section near the coast and Tel al-Sultan area in the southernmost city of Rafah.

This could spell disaster for the people living in the war-battered Gaza Strip as Israel would control the entry of aid and medical supplies to the coastal enclave. Dozens have died of hunger and dehydration in recent months.

Following the Hamas parliamentary elections win in 2006, Israel initiated a suffocating blockade on Gaza, under which four of the six crossing points with Gaza were closed.

The Israeli army only kept a partial opening of the Erez crossing for individual movement and the Karm Abu Salem commercial crossing - also known as the Kerem Shalom crossing - for the entry of goods into Gaza.

In the past 18 years, Israel seized control of all goods entering Gaza, and placed a long list of items that were not allowed to enter Gaza, claiming that these items are of dual-use that could be used for military purposes.

'Policy of starvation'

The Gaza government's media office said in a statement that the Israeli army is imposing a policy of starvation against 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza. The people in Gaza who lost their sources of income, are in need of around 7 million meals a day.

On May 7, the Israeli army's occupation of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt prevented Palestinian patients from traveling to seek medical treatment.

It also obstructed the entry of humanitarian aid trucks into Gaza

Egypt continues to support the Palestinian cause and refuses to coordinate with Israel on border issues.

On May 24, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his American counterpart Joe Biden agreed to temporarily deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza via Israel's Kerem Shalom crossing.

But under this agreement, only a limited number of aid trucks entered Gaza amid tightened Israeli restrictions.

Floating pier

The US-built floating pier that became operational in mid-May has received a sporadic supply of aid.

According to the government media office in Gaza, less than one hundred aid trucks entered Gaza through the pier.

The situation with the pier got worse in recent days, as it became damaged by strong tides and will take a while to be repaired.

On Wednesday, a Pentagon spokesperson said the pier will be removed from its location on the Gaza coast over the next 48 hours and taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod, where US Central Command will carry out repairs.

Even when it was operational, the Gaza authorities and international aid organizations confirmed that the pier cannot be an alternative to the land crossings for the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

On Wednesday, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters at a news conference that aid deliveries to Gaza have decreased by 67% since the closure of the Rafah crossing on May 7.

Israel has launched a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, killing more than 36,170 people and injuring 81,400 others.

Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar​​​​​​​