Collapsed buildings, flattened infrastructure, and streets turned into fields of rubble are the scenes that have become all too familiar in the long-blockaded Gaza Strip.
But this time the Palestinians are suffering the most severe retaliation by Israel following the deadly weekend attack by Hamas militants.
Israel has vowed unprecedented retaliation after the Hamas militant group fired barrages of rockets its fighters and stormed through the border fence on October, killing more than 1,200 people and taking around 150 hostages.
The Israeli military said dozens of its fighter jets struck more than 200 targets overnight in a neighbourhood of Gaza City. Israel hasalso called up an unprecedented 300,000 reservists. Israeli attacks on Gaza have resulted in the killing of more than 950 people Palestinians.
Nowhere to hide in Gaza
Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip are scrambling to find safety and they have nowhere to hide. Israel says it has given warnings to leave certain neighborhoods or towns but residents said there have been few warnings and that they have nowhere to go anyway.
Gaza is a 40-kilometer-long (25-mile) strip of land wedged among Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea that is home to 2.3 million people and has been governed by Hamas since 2007.
Entire neighborhoods demolished in Gaza
Israeli strikes gave demolished entire neighborhoods, hospitals ran low on supplies and a power blackout is expected within hours. Israel’s government announced a “complete siege” of Gaza, saying “no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel” would be allowed in.
Israel’s fighter jets have struck targets in Gaza frequently over the years as part of the longstanding conflict between the Palestinians and Israel. But residents of Gaza and health authorities have said that this time the strikes have been indiscriminately hitting schools, hospitals and mosques.
The scenes of devastation inflicted on #Palestinian civilians in Gaza Strip are harrowing. The international impunity #Israel enjoys is a moral, political, and legal stain affront to humanity and basic decency as well as the principles of international law. Any attempt to excuse… pic.twitter.com/eySsCl2kg8
— State of Palestine – MFA 🇵🇸🇵🇸 (@pmofa) October 9, 2023
The intense Israeli bombardment has inflicted severe damage on Gaza City’s upscale Rimal neighborhood, home to ministries of the Hamas-run government, universities, media organizations and the aid agency offices.
“Israel has destroyed the center of everything,” said Palestinian businessman Ali al-Hiyak from his home near Rimal. “That is the space of our public life, our community.” “They are breaking us,” he added.
Death toll and Damage in Gaza
Palestinian authorities said 950 people had been killed and at least 5,000 Palestinians have been injured in the Israeli attacks.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Israeli strikes had since Saturday destroyed more than 22,600 residential units and 10 health facilities and damaged 48 schools.
UN condemns Israeli siege
United Nation agencies are calling on Israel to lift its siege of Gaza, warning that the denial of lifesaving assistance is prohibited under international humanitarian law.
“Civilians must be allowed to leave besieged areas if they wish to do so. Any restriction must be justified by a military necessity or may amount to collective punishment,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, at a news briefing for reporters Tuesday in Geneva said. “This is clearly prohibited under international humanitarian law, and it could amount to a war crime.”
Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for human rights, on Tuesday warned that a full siege of Gaza would exacerbate the “already dire” humanitarian situation in the coastal territory and would hurt hospitals’ ability to treat the growing number of wounded.
Casualties on both sides
These are the latest casualty figures according to Palestinian health ministry, Palestine Red Crescent Society and Israeli Army.
Gaza and West Bank
- Killed: 970
- Injured: 5,130
Israel
- Killed: 1,200
- Injured: 3,007