World
Gaza’s 2024: A year of war and misery
Palestinians in Gaza are entering the new year as defenceless and beleaguered as the last.
Israel’s war on the enclave continued into 2024, killing 23,842 people and wounding 51,925 during this year alone, driving the grisly official death toll to 46,376, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Israel has used siege and starve tactics, as well as scorched earth bombardment, drawing accusations that it is committing genocide, from rights groups and United Nations legal bodies.
All documented Israel’s systematic targeting of hospitals, displacement shelters, aid workers, journalists and so-called safe zones, which are often anything but.
In northern Gaza, the Israeli army has imposed a full and suffocating siege in an attempt to starve fighters and push out civilians, in what has been called “ethnic cleansing”.
These tactics violate international law and are creating the conditions to kill a people “in whole or in part”, matching the definition of genocide in the UN’s Genocide Convention, rights groups say.
“This last year has been very dark for us. How can I describe it in any other way? It’s been more than torturous,” said Eman Shaghnoubi, 52, from Deir el-Balah in Gaza.
“We have moved from one humiliation to another,” she added, remarking on the perpetual displacement of Palestinians in the enclave.
Within Gaza
Israel has rendered 34 hospitals in Gaza “nonfunctional” and forced 80 health centres to shut down entirely, according to the Gaza Government Media Office.
In the last few days, Israeli forces stormed the only remaining major hospital in Gaza’s devastated north, ejecting staff and patients before setting the medical facility on fire.
Torrential rain is currently lashing the tent villages that stand in place of many of Gaza’s towns and cities, with deaths from hypothermia rising as freezing temperatures continue to flatline.
Shaghnoubi, who has six boys and two girls, said that her children are struggling to survive in the cold and that her small tent does not protect the family from the pouring rain.
“My children sleep on soaked bedding at night,” she told Al Jazeera.
Shereen Abu Nida, 40, also said that she and her four children are coping with hardship due to the terrible living conditions brought on by the war. Worst still, her husband was abducted by Israeli forces about a year ago, leaving her to care for her children all alone.
“I have had to go through this whole year alone, all by myself,” she said, her voice quivering.
Musa Ali Muhammad al-Maghribi, 52, added that his family have little hope for the future.
He said his nine children are ill and he can’t find medication, nor is there enough food or clean water for his family, an ordeal that most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people face.
“[Israel] has destroyed us,” he told Al Jazeera. “Every day, we just hope to die.”
Netanyahu extends the fight
Despite the extreme hardship, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is showing no sign of halting the onslaught.
Efforts at mediating some form of ceasefire, which have been continuing throughout much of the conflict, have floundered in the face of what many, including United States President Joe Biden in June, have slammed as political self-interest on the part of the Israeli prime minister.
Accusations of exploiting the war on Gaza for personal gain have centred upon Netanyahu’s attempts to deflect from his ongoing trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of public trust, which he denies.
In addition, the prime minister’s corruption trial suggests that Netanyahu is seeking to prolong the war to distract from accusations of negligence or incompetence during the Hamas-led attack of October 7 2023, which killed 1,139 Israelis.
Charges of opportunism have come from both within Netanyahu’s right-wing cabinet, as well as the street, where tens of thousands of people continue to rally in support of a deal that would see the captives taken during the Hamas-led attack released.
International impotence
The international community has failed to halt – or mitigate – the carnage in Gaza largely due to the US’s unqualified political and military support for Israel’s war on Gaza.
In addition to the more than $20bn in aid provided to Israel since the war began, the US has torpedoed diplomatic efforts within the UN to end the war, including suppressing recent reports of the potential famine under way in northern Gaza.
In January, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to do all it could to prevent any act that could be considered genocide. Despite this, rights organisations based in Palestine and internationally, including Amnesty, have concluded that Israel is actively embarked upon a campaign of genocide within the Strip.
Similar international action has also been taken against both the Hamas and Israeli leadership. In November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leader Mohammed Deif.
Israel claims to have killed Deif in July. Netanyahu and Gallant remain wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In October, Israel defied international pressure and voted to ban the UN’s Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), widely acknowledged as one of Gaza’s principal lifelines. When the ban comes into effect in late January of next year, Gaza will lose its principal aid agency and with it, much of the network that distributes food, medicine and the infrastructure needed to sustain life.
In December, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly for UNRWA’s work to continue and, for the third time, that a ceasefire be immediately reached. Despite this, Israeli strikes on Gaza have continued and the agency’s future remains uncertain.
Palestinians in Gaza such as Abu Nida just hope the war will end soon this coming year.
“This has been the worst year of my life,” said Abu Nida.
“Nobody in the world has lived through the days that we are living through,” she said.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices rose in early trading Sunday as a standoff between Iran and the U.S. prevented tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway that is crucial to global energy supplies.
The price of U.S. crude oil increased 6.4% to $87.90 per barrel an hour after trading resumed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 5.8% to $95.64 per barrel.
The market reaction followed more than two days of lifted hopes and dashed expectations involving the strait. Crude prices plunged more than 9% Friday after Iran said it would fully reopen the strait, which it effectively controls, to commercial traffic.
Tehran reversed that decision and fired on several vessels Saturday after President Donald Trump said a U.S. Navy blockade of Iranian ports would remain in effect. On Sunday, Trump said the U.S. attacked and forcibly seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that allegedly tried to get around the blockade. Iran’s joint military command vowed to respond.
Sunday’s higher prices wiped out much of the declines seen Friday, signaling renewed doubts about how soon ships will again transport the vast amounts oil the world gets from the Middle East.
The US-Israeli war against Iran, now in its eighth week, has created one of the worst global energy crises in decades. Countries in Asia and Europe that import much of their oil from the Gulf have felt the most impact of halted supplies and production cuts, although rapidly rising gasoline, diesel and jet fuel prices are affecting businesses and consumers worldwide.
Asked when he thought U.S. motorists would again see gas cost less than $3 a gallon on average, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said prices at the pump might not go down that much until next year.
“But prices have likely peaked, and they’ll start going down,” Wright told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
The price of crude oil — the main ingredient in gasoline — has fluctated dramatically since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, and as Iran retaliated with airstrikes on other Gulf states. Crude traded at roughly $70 a barrel before the conflict, spiked to more than $119 at times, and previously closed Friday at $82.59 for U.S. oil and $90.38 for Brent.
Industry analysts have repeatedly warned that the longer the strait is closed, the worse prices could get.
A fragile, two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is set to expire Wednesday, while escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz puts the fate of new talks to end the war into question.
Even if a lasting deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz emerges, analysts say it could take months for oil shipments to return to normal levels and for fuel prices to go down. Backed-up tanker traffic, shipowners concerned about another sudden escalation, and energy infrastructure damaged during the war are factors that could impede production and shipment volumes from returning to pre-war levels.
A gallon of regular gas cost an average of nearly $4.05 a gallon in the U.S. on Sunday, according to motor club federation AAA. That’s about 8 cents lower than a week ago, but far higher than $2.98 before the war.
Trump warns Iran it ‘can’t blackmail’ US with Hormuz closure
Fox News reports on heightened tensions in the Middle East as Iran’s Revolutionary Guard reaffirms strict control over the Strait of Hormuz and fires on passing ships. President Donald Trump, speaking from the Oval Office, states the US naval blockade will remain in full force. White House correspondent Alex Hogan provides updates on the escalating diplomatic and military standoff.
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Hundreds of commercial tankers are stranded on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz after Iran shut the critical chokepoint on April 18, halting traffic and leaving crews trapped amid reports of gunfire and “traumatic experiences” on board.
The Strait of Hormuz is considered an international waterway under international law, through which ships have the right of transit passage, according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, making it a critical chokepoint for global energy markets, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said Iranian gunboats opened fire on a tanker the same day, while a projectile struck a container vessel, damaging cargo.
STARMER AND MACRON ACCUSED OF ‘PLAYING AT BEING RELEVANT’ WITH STRAIT OF HORMUZ PLAN
U.S. Central Command said Tuesday that “U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers are among the assets executing a blockade mission impacting Iranian ports.” (CENTCOM)
Audio released by maritime monitoring group TankerTrackers appears to capture the moment a vessel and its crew came under fire while approaching the strait, including a distress call from a crew member.
“Sepah Navy! Motor tanker Sanmar Herald! You gave me clearance to go… you are firing now. Let me turn back!” the crew member can be heard saying in the recording, according to TankerTrackers.
Iranian state media confirmed that shots were fired near vessels to force them to turn back, while the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India said the foreign secretary was deeply concerned.
Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth-largest container shipping line, told Fox News Digital that it had activated a crisis team as its crews remain stuck on board vessels in the region.
“We have been working from Friday afternoon until today with the entire crisis team to bring the vessels out — in vain, unfortunately,” said Nils Haupt, senior director of group communications at Hapag-Lloyd AG.
“These events can easily lead to traumatic experiences. There is also a significant risk from sea mines, which has made insuring vessels for passage through the Strait nearly impossible.”
LISA DAFTARI: HORMUZ WHIPLASH PROVES TEHRAN CAN’T HONOR ANY DEAL IT SIGNS
“The crews are well, but they are becoming increasingly impatient and frustrated. It is very unfortunate that we could not leave today,” he added. “Many ships are still stuck in the Persian Gulf.”
“Our six ships are anchored near the port of Dubai, and all crews hope for an improvement in the situation,” Haupt said.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on April 18 that the strait would remain closed until the U.S. lifts its blockade on Iranian ports, warning ships not to move from anchorage or risk being treated as “enemy” collaborators.
Iran has previously argued that restrictions on its oil exports and shipping amount to “economic warfare,” framing actions in the Strait of Hormuz as a response to foreign pressure on its economy, according to statements from Iranian officials and state media in past incidents.
“Approaching the Strait of Hormuz will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and any violating vessel will be targeted,” the IRGC said in a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.
TRUMP ORDERS A BLOCKADE IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ AS TENSIONS WITH IRAN SOAR
Fishing boats dot the sea as cargo ships, in the background, sail through the Arabian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz off the United Arab Emirates, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo)
The United States imposed the blockade on Iranian ports to pressure Tehran to reopen the strait, with U.S. Central Command saying the measures are being enforced “impartially against all vessels.”
Hapag-Lloyd said its vessels have been stuck for weeks following the initial closure after the outbreak of war with Iran on Feb. 28.
“For us, it is critical that our vessels can pass through the strait soon,” Haupt said.
“We offer all crew members unlimited data so they can video call loved ones and access entertainment. Crews are strong, but after weeks on board there is growing monotony and frustration.”
“One crew experienced a fire on board from bomb fragments. Others have seen missiles or drones near their vessels,” he added.
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“They are resilient, but each additional day makes the situation more difficult, more monotonous, and more stressful.”
President Donald Trump said Iran had agreed not to close the strait again but after the closure, Trump called the situation “blackmail” and said the U.S. would not back down.
Shops and schools shut in northern Israel as residents protested a 10-day ceasefire with Lebanon that took effect on April 16, saying “nothing was achieved”. Israeli officials say operations may continue, with forces still deployed inside southern Lebanon.
Published On 19 Apr 2026
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