Israel, Coronavirus and 7 Reasons Why There’s No ‘Gaza Siege’ - by Honest Reporting

Ultimately, while restrictions on movement of people and materials exist in order to prevent terrorism, the Israeli/Egyptian blockade of Gaza should not be referred to as a “siege.” Hamas’ own survival depends on blaming the suffering of Gazans on Israel in order to divert from its own failures. Sadly, there are too many, including some media, who willingly buy into this narrative. Israel has no desire to see the people of Gaza suffering and does all it can to balance its own security needs with the humanitarian requirements of the Palestinians. Gaza is not under “siege.”

Honest Reporting..
30 March '20..

Particularly at a time when the coronavirus poses a significant risk of spreading to the Palestinian population of Gaza, the Hamas-controlled enclave is once again in the news. And with that, a new focus on the difficulties faced by Gaza’s under-resourced health system. Some media put the blame squarely on Israeli restrictions on Gaza that exist to mitigate Hamas terrorism against Israel. These restrictions are often referred to as a “blockade.” Some, however, go further by referring to a “Gaza siege.”

The word “siege” is deliberately emotive and consistently used by Israel’s detractors and sometimes by mainstream media. For example, The Economist:

The Media’s Gaza Siege Mentality

Language matters. Misleading Terminology is one of our 8 Categories of Media Bias. We note that language is too often used to promote an agenda. The media must exercise caution when consciously choosing to adopt (or avoid) certain terms, proper nouns, or foreign words.


The dictionary definition of a siege is:

the act or process of surrounding and attacking a fortified place in such a way as to isolate it from help and supplies, for the purpose of lessening the resistance of the defenders and thereby making capture possible.

Here are seven reasons why Gaza’s situation is far removed from the definition above.

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