In light of Israeli blockade, sea only means of existence for many Gazans

In the besieged Gaza Strip, the sea is the only passage for the population in Gaza Strip, especially in light of the deteriorating economic situation and the continuous Israeli blockade. For nearly 16 years, Israel has imposed a stifling blockade on the Gaza Strip, affecting all its vital (social, economic, and humanitarian) sectors. Despite the humanitarian situation of Gaza reaching an unprecedented deterioration, Israel has maintained its collective punishment policy against more than 2.2 million Gazans in a way that clearly exposes Israel's intention to inflict great material and moral damages on them. Unlike other people on the world, Palestinians in Gaza face numerous complex restrictions if they decide to travel to or from Gaza through the Israeli-controlled Erez Crossing or Rafah Crossing. Gazans usually go through long procedures, from bureaucratic follow-ups in order to register their names for travel and security checks to a waiting period that may extend to several weeks or months to obtain an Israeli permit. With all of these restrictions, Gaza beach has long provided much-needed relief for the 2 million residents of the Gaza Strip, cut off from the rest of the world. They come to swim, play soccer, relax, or as many poetically put it — speak to the sea. According to the Oslo Agreement, signed by the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel in 1994, permits the Palestinians to sail up to 20 nautical miles (about 37 km) off the Gaza coast. However, that has never been permitted in reality. Instead, Israel arbitrarily limits fishing to an ever-changing zone that is never further than 12 nautical miles out. *** These images used in the photogallery news have been taken by the Palestinian photographer Ibraheem M. Lafi