Israeli occupation forces have committed a new crime against civilians in the Gaza Strip by closing Al-Rashid Coastal Road, one of the last vital arteries connecting the north of the Strip with the south, exacerbating the suffering of the besieged population and cutting off the last safe passage available to them.
Al-Rashid Coastal Road, which runs along the western coast of Gaza, is the only remaining road after the destruction and restriction of most other crossings and main roads. It was used by citizens fleeing the bombing in search of safer areas.
With the closure of this road, hundreds of thousands of residents in northern Gaza are now under a double siege: continuous bombing from the air and land, and forced starvation and isolation from land and sea, at a time when the humanitarian situation is deteriorating day by day. Observers describe this move as part of a systematic policy to divide the Strip into isolated areas, impose a new demographic reality, and deepen the humanitarian catastrophe for more than two million Palestinians.
Stories from the field: resilience and pain
In the heart of Gaza City, amid the rubble of neighbourhoods under constant bombardment, resident Abdelkader Khalil refuses to leave his home despite the imminent danger. ‘We will not go south, we will stay here no matter how intense the bombing gets. This is our homeland, and we will not leave it,’ he says.
Abdul Qader moves from neighbourhood to neighbourhood within the city in search of temporary shelter, but he insists on not leaving the northern Gaza Strip. He sees his decision to stay as an expression of resilience and a rejection of attempts at forced displacement, emphasising that the closure of Al-Rashid Street has exacerbated people’s suffering and restricted their movement, even to secure food or reach their relatives. “We are trapped within the siege, and every step is fraught with death… But we will not give up,” he says with determination.
Abdul Rahman Alian, on the other hand, has had a different experience. He was forced to flee with his family to the Al-Zawida area in the centre of the Strip, while his family remained in the north under bombardment. Abdul Rahman recounts the pain of separation from his loved ones: ‘I am here physically, but my heart is in the north. The closure of Al-Rashid Street cut the last thread between me and my family. I cannot reach them or even check on them.’
Despite his displacement, he does not see the central area as truly safe, but rather as ‘a transition from one danger to another,’ as he puts it. ‘We live in crowded tents and lack the most basic necessities of life, but my greatest suffering is thinking about my brothers who are trapped there. I don’t know if they will survive,’ he said.
Closing the Al-Rashid Coastal Road: a complete crime by Israel
In the same context, the Government Media Office in Gaza accused the Israeli occupation of committing a ‘new crime’ by closing Al-Rashid Coastal Road, considering it part of the policy of siege and genocide against the civilian population in the Strip.
The statement issued by the office emphasised that this measure aims to deprive civilians of their freedom of movement and disrupt their ability to seek safe areas or secure their basic needs, pointing out that the occupation’s claims of allowing ‘free’ passage to the south are merely pretexts to mislead public opinion and conceal its crimes.
The media office noted that the occupation, along with the US administration, bears full legal and humanitarian responsibility for the catastrophic consequences of closing the road, calling on the international community and the United Nations to take immediate action to protect civilians and guarantee their right to safe movement.
Featured image via the Canary
By Alaa Shamali
This post was originally published on Canary.