GAZA CITY: The Gaza Strip on Monday quietly marked two years since Hamas seized power in the impoverished enclave, leading to an Israeli blockade slammed by rights groups as collective punishment.

On June 15, 2007 the Islamic Resistance Movement routed loyalists of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's rival Fatah faction from the territory after a week of deadly clashes that followed months of rising tensions.

The move effectively cleaved the Palestinians into two separate entitites, with the Western-backed Abbas having his writ confined to the occupied West Bank and the Iranian-backed Hamas ruling its Gaza stronghold.

Israel responded to the takeover by the group pledged to the Jewish state's destruction by slapping a blockade on the overcrowded territory of 1.5 million people, allowing only essential humanitarian goods to enter.

Egypt, which controls Gaza's only border crossing that bypasses Israel, has largely complied with the restrictions.

Israel has insisted that the blockade is necessary to prevent Hamas from arming itself, but human rights groups have slammed the restrictions as collective punishment of the territory where the vast majority of the population depends on foreign aid.

Gaza's humanitarian situation was exacerbated after Israel launched a devastating war on the territory on December 27 in response to ongoing rocket fire.

The war ended with mutual ceasefires by Hamas and Israel on January 18, which have largely held despite violations by both sides.