June 17th, 2009 — A group of nearly 40 United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) today called for an end to Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has now been in force for two years and has left the population of 1.5 million almost totally dependent on international aid. "We call for free and uninhibited access for all humanitarian assistance in accordance with the international agreements and in accordance with universally recognised international human rights and humanitarian law standards," they said in a joint statement issued in Jerusalem to mark the second anniversary of the blockade.

May 29th, 2009 — Gazans are not currently subject to the shelling and bombing characteristic of the war last winter. But they are enduring a continued siege on their land, affecting shelter, basic infrastructure for water, and the banking system, to name a few. At the end of April 2009, UNRWA and the UN Development Program (UNDP) completed their assessments of damage caused during the last offensive on Gaza. Some 3,500 houses were totally destroyed or are beyond repair and many others have yet to be repaired. Israel has not allowed cement and building materials into Gaza since June 2007. Internally displaced people, living on sand dunes in tents provided by international aid agencies, and cooking on kerosene burners and using portable toilets, report a feeling of despair and lack of safety.

April 15th, 2009 — Hundreds of thousands of tons of aid intended for the Gaza Strip is piling up in cities across Egypt's North Sinai region, despite recent calls from the United Nations to ease aid flow restrictions to the embattled territory in the wake of Operation Cast Lead. Literally, food is rotting at the border.

April 7th, 2009 — Over 150,000 Palestinians in Gaza (around 10 percent of the population) are struggling without tap water as a result of the damage caused to wells, pipes and waste water facilities during the recent 23-day Israeli offensive which ended on 18 January. "Our requests via the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to the Israeli military during the conflict to allow shipments of construction materials and spare parts to repair wells and facilities damaged during the war were denied," Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) director-general Monther Shoblak told IRIN.

March 30th, 2009 — In addition to limitations on humanitarian deliveries, restrictions on imports and exports in general continue to seriously affect the living conditions of the population. The vast majority of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip rely on local farming to produce affordable fresh foods, including fruit, vegetables, meat and fish. Movement restrictions continue to prevent herders and farmers from accessing areas near the borders. Fishermen stand to lose substantial income as a result of new restrictions that limit fishing to three miles from Gaza's shores.