The blockade has devastating effects on the civilian population of the territory by limiting the import of essential goods, including construction materials, paralyzing internal Palestinian trade and exports, the NGO said in a statement.

Added to this is the impossibility for the inhabitants of the coastal enclave to leave to visit their families, receive medical care or seek employment in the West Bank or abroad, it stressed.

Oxfam warned that such actions amount to “collective punishment that is explicitly prohibited by international humanitarian law in Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.”

It also criticized Israel’s decision to ban or limit as much as possible the entry of thousands of goods listed as dual-use (civilian products with potential military use).

Tel Aviv’s lists include items such as wood, steel bars and cement, which are not internationally recognized as dual-use, it stressed.

Unemployment in that region amounts to 46,6% while the population has just 12 hours of electricity a day, it noted.

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