Even before Israel’s campaign of collective punishment in Gaza began in October 2023, life for many in the Palestinian enclave was difficult. However, despite high unemployment, overcrowding and an Israeli blockade punctuated by periodic bombardments, the spectre of starvation was unknown.
That has changed in the past two years. Speaking to The National this week, mother-of-three Maryam Sheehan said that before the war she’d never heard of the Norwegian Refugee Council. Now, the NGO is all that stands between her family and hunger. Ms Sheehan fears the worst after Israel banned the NRC and more than 30 other international humanitarian organisations from operating in the ruined territory, claiming they failed to comply with new registration rules.
The consequences of this decision are literally life-and-death ones. More than two million Palestinians – almost Gaza's entire population – depend on humanitarian agencies after the Israeli military destroyed hospitals, homes, infrastructure and agriculture. Israel claims that its registration procedures are for its security, to weed out infiltrators and prevent the importation of dual-use items into Ga
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