Despite the Israeli disengagement, Gaza is still considered occupied by Israel under international law.[20][21] The current blockade prevents people and goods from freely entering or leaving the territory, leading to Gaza often being called an "open-air prison".[22][23] The UN, as well as at least 19 human-rights organizations, have urged Israel to lift the blockade.[24] Israel has justified its blockade on the strip with wanting to stop flow of arms, but Palestinians and rights groups say it amounts to collective punishment and exacerbates dire living conditions. Prior to the Israel–Hamas war, Hamas had said that it did not want a military escalation in Gaza partially to prevent exacerbating the humanitarian crisis after the 2021 conflict.[25] A tightened blockade since the start of the Israel–Hamas war has contributed to an ongoing famine.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip#:~:text=The%20territory%20has%20been%20under%20Israeli%20occupation%20since%201967.&text=De%20facto%20administered%20by%20Hamas,IDF%20since%2027%20October%202023.

Having administration privileges while being blockaded is different then being an actual independant country. They couldn't even build ports or access to most of their waters for fishing.

None of this is defendable. Take a hard look at the behavior you are making excuses for. Israel seriously sucks.