Fisherman Khaled Habib uses a makeshift paddleboard to propel himself through the waters of Gaza City’s fishing port. Israeli bombardment over more than 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas has destroyed most of the boats in the harbour. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said in December that the conflict had taken Gaza’s \”once thriving fishing sector to the brink of collapse\” The war in Gaza was sparked by Palestinian group Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians. The first phase of the Gaza truce, which ended on March 1, had enabled the entry of vital food, shelter and medical assistance into the Palestinian territory, but Israel announced on March 2 that it was blocking aid deliveries to Gaza, where Palestinians say they fear food shortages and price hikes. The ceasefire came into force on January 19, and which largely halted the fighting, but Habib said that fishing outside the port is not allowed.