What it is really like in Gaza these days is the direct result of choices made and actions taken by those who "govern" Gaza (And I use the word "govern" in it's loosest possible meaning).

What it is really like in Gaza these days is the people live with the fact that they live in a one party "state" - anyone wishing to provide a political alternative may find themselves taking a flying lesson without the benefit of an aeroplane from the roof of a seven storey building.

What it is really like in Gaza these days is the people, even in this one-party paradise, have not had the chance to exercise their right to vote since 2006.

What it is really like in Gaza these days is that while the Hamas government, throughout this "blockade", can smuggle in weapons, explosives, in fact anything they want. But they cannot for some strange reason do anything to alleviate the shortages that the people they are supposed to be governing are experiencing.

What it is really like in Gaza these days Shaw is that cement, wiring and steel can be smuggled in to build shelters for Hamas "fighters", yet Hamas have not built one shelter for the people they are supposed to be governing while ordering them to remain in locations that the IDF have clearly issued warnings that they are about to attack.

They have been on the losing side of this conflict, entirely of their own making, for 70 years - that by anyone's measurement is a bloody slow learning curve - high time they started learning from history - their fault - entirely.