Gisha

Palestinian workers at the Erez crossing in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, waiting to enter Israel for work, March 13, 2022. (Attia Muhammed/Flash90 )

Strangled by Israel for decades, Gaza’s future must begin with free movement

Israel persistently shirks responsibility for Gaza despite subjecting it to closures, permits, and assaults. Returning to those policies is not an option.

By Noa Galili March 10, 2024

Ola Baqa holds up a photo of her brother who died before she received a permit to leave Gaza and visit him in the West Bank. (Mohammed Zaanoun)

Give up your right to live in the West Bank, or never see your children in Gaza again

After marrying and moving to Gaza, Ola Baqa was prevented from returning to Nablus until her brother died. Then Israel forced an impossible choice on her.

By Sereen Ali January 19, 2023

Palestinian Health Ministry crews conduct medical tests in Rafah, Gaza, on January 14, 2021. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

The absurdity of demanding Gaza get its own COVID-19 vaccines

Israel can’t cherry-pick its obligations to Gaza while undermining every facet of Palestinian self-rule — especially during a pandemic.

By Tania Hary January 27, 2021

Latest

Members of the Palestinian security forces enforce a full lockdown for 48 hours following the spread the of the coronavirus, Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, August 25, 2020. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

Human rights groups demand Israel allow fuel into COVID-struck Gaza

NGOs petition High Court to force Israel to open Gaza to fuel and other basic goods, after Israel closed its central commercial crossing in August.

By Orly Noy August 31, 2020

Palestinians wait at the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel on July 13, 2014. (Flash90)

‘Gaza is a one-way ticket’: How Israel’s relocation policy is separating Palestinian communities

Israel is systemically routing Palestinian movement in one direction — from the West Bank to Gaza. Families and advocates say the silent transfer is splintering Palestinian society.

By Henriette Chacar June 30, 2020

Young Palestinians Mohammed Ehsen, 21, Bassem Abu Ubaid, 33 , who had their legs amputated following injuries during the Great Return March, Gaza Strip, on June 3, 2019. (Abed Rahim Khatib/ Flash90)

How to tell the stories of the siege when you cannot enter Gaza

In a new podcast, I hoped to capture the impacts of the Gaza blockade that are mostly invisible to the outside world. There was just one problem: I can’t go there. By Lital Firestone When I first dreamed up the idea of doing a podcast about Gaza, I hoped to use the medium to get answers to…

By +972 Magazine September 3, 2019

Palestinians wait to cross into Egypt through the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip after it was opened by Egyptian authorities for humanitarian cases, on February 7, 2017. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

Israel’s ‘humanitarian’ offer to Tlaib made me cringe. Here’s why

As the director of an organization that promotes the right to freedom of movement in Gaza, when I heard that Israel is offering you the chance to make a ‘humanitarian’ visit to your family, I felt a familiar cringe. An open letter to Reps. Tlaib and Omar. By Tania Hary Dear Representative Omar and Representative Tlaib,…

By +972 Magazine August 16, 2019

Palestinian men sit in the rubble of a destroyed home in the Nusseirat Refugee Camp, which was shelled by Israeli forces a few hours earlier, Gaza Strip, May 6, 2019. (Hassan Jedi/Flash90)

Stories of devastatingly normal suffering in Gaza

I got an email from a man asking if we could help him and his family escape Gaza if war broke out. It seems so reasonable, until you realize there is no precedent for evacuating Palestinian civilians in time of war. By Tania Hary A popular social media figure from Gaza tweeted yesterday that if…

By +972 Magazine May 6, 2019

Palestinian Christians hold candles lit by the holy fire, which was delivered from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, at the Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City, on April 20, 2014. (Wissam Nassar/Flash90)

Israel bars hundreds of Palestinian Christians from traveling on Easter

In an unprecedented decision, Israeli authorities are denying hundreds of Palestinian Christians the right to travel to Jerusalem for the holiday, while barring all movement between the West Bank and Gaza. Thousands of Christian pilgrims from all over the world are expected to travel to Jerusalem for Easter celebrations. For Christian Palestinians who live no more than hours…

By Henriette Chacar April 19, 2019

Ahlam Abu Musa, 20, was diagnosed with cancer in May 2018. The treatment she needs is not available in the strip, but the Israeli army has denied her multiple requests to exit through the Erez Crossing. (Amjad Yaghi)

Palestinian battling cancer is denied exit from Gaza for treatment

The medical care Ahlam Abu Musa needs isn’t available through Gaza’s debilitated health system, but the Israeli army has denied all four of her exit requests. By Amjad Yaghi Ahlam Abu Musa was diagnosed with bone cancer last May. The 20-year-old from Shaboura refugee camp in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, has since tried to obtain…

By +972 Magazine February 8, 2019

Illustrative photo of a crop-duster spraying agricultural lands with chemical agents. (Moshe Shai/FLASH90)

Israel spraying herbicides inside Gaza violates int’l law, rights groups say

In an urgent letter to Israeli military officials, three human rights groups demand that Israel immediately stop spraying the dangerous chemicals into Gaza. The Israeli army is continuing to spray dangerous herbicides on agricultural fields inside the Gaza Strip, three years since +972 Magazine first reported on the practice. This week, three Palestinian and Israeli human rights…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man January 9, 2019

Palestinians wait at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip, after it was opened for two days by Egyptian authorities, May 11, 2016. (Abed Rahim Khatib/ Flash90)

‘Gazans need to be able to breathe and feel hope for the future’

It’s impossible to know just how much Israel will loosen its restrictions on goods and movement of people in Gaza as it negotiates with Hamas. What’s clear is that a new approach is needed. Israel and Hamas are in the advanced stages of negotiations over a ceasefire, according to numerous media reports, that, in exchange for an…

By Edo Konrad August 6, 2018

Israeli snipers seen on the border with Gaza during the Great March of Return, March 30, 2018. (IDF Spokesperson)

Top court hears first major challenge to IDF’s live fire in Gaza

Human rights groups argue the army’s open-fire regulations violate international law. The government claims the use of deadly force is justified — even against unarmed demonstrators. Israel’s High Court of Justice heard on Monday a major challenge to the IDF’s rules of engagement, which permit the use of live fire against demonstrators who pose no danger…

By Joshua Leifer April 30, 2018