13. Was Israel occupying Gaza on October 6, 2023?
Yes, Israel has occupied Gaza since 1967 and continues to occupy it according to international law. Despite withdrawing its settlements and internal control over Gaza in 2005, Israel has maintained a blockade of land, air, and sea over Gaza since 20061 and has essentially imprisoned its population by use of this control.
While some scholars argue that occupation must be defined as a situation in which there are military “boots on the ground.” However, under international law occupation is defined as a situation during armed conflict in which a territory or part of it comes under the effective control of a foreign power.2 In this case, Israel is the foreign power exercising control over the Gaza Strip. Israel controls most everything that enters and leaves Gaza in terms of people and products — including food and medicine.
The actions taken by Israel in the immediate aftermath of October 7, 2023, also illustrate the very high level of control the state has over Palestinians in Gaza. Israel was effectively able to shut off access to water, food, electricity, and medicine based on the decision of one man: Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.3 This forced Palestinians to rely on the very meager aid that Israel allowed to enter through border crossings it controls, showing exactly how expansive Israel’s occupation over Gaza is, and making any arguments about whether or not it occupies Gaza completely moot.4
Notes
Footnotes
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https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/israel-blockade-gaza-and-flotilla-incident#:~:text=1.%20The%20blockade%20of%20the%20Gaza%20Strip ↩
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The Hague, 18 October 1907, Article 42 ↩
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https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6474/Israel%E2%80%99s-deliberate-blackout-of-the-Gaza-Strip-for-nearly-a-year-is-a-tool-of-genocide ↩
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https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/gaza-ceasefire-465-days-and-46000-lives-too-late ↩