Desk Report:
The Israeli invasion of Gaza will mark two years tomorrow, October 7. Since October 7, 2023, more than 67,000 people have been killed and nearly 10,000 are missing in the Israeli attack on the territory. In addition, Israel has dropped more than 200,000 tons of explosives in the region during this period.
According to the Lebanese media outlet Al-Mayadeen, the Gaza government’s public relations office has published a new report focusing on two years of the Israeli invasion of the region. It says that the ongoing Israeli invasion has caused terrible destruction, genocide, the displacement of millions of people and the loss of more than ten thousand civilian lives.
The statement released yesterday, Sunday, said that more than 76,600 Palestinians have been killed or missing in the Israeli attack that began on October 7, 2023. Of these, 67,139 deaths have been confirmed by hospitals. About 9,500 people are still missing, many of whom are feared buried under the rubble.
The report said that more than half of the dead were women, children and the elderly. Of these, more than 20,000 children and 12,500 women were killed. There were more than 2,700 cases of entire families being wiped out. In another 6,000 families, only one member is alive.
According to the media office, 90 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure has been destroyed by Israeli airstrikes and ground operations. The entire area is now a humanitarian disaster. Israeli forces have occupied more than 80 percent of Gaza’s land. More than two million people have been forcibly displaced in two years, many forced to move more than once.
The statement also said that Israel is pursuing a policy of starvation and ethnic cleansing in Gaza. More than 200,000 tons of bombs and explosives have been dropped on Gaza in two years. Al-Mawasi, a designated “safe zone” for humanitarian aid, has also been bombed more than 130 times.
The report said that 38 hospitals and 96 clinics have been destroyed or disabled in Israeli attacks. 197 ambulances have been targeted. More than 1,600 doctors and health workers have been killed. 254 journalists, 140 civil defense members and 540 humanitarian workers have been killed.
In addition, more than 169,000 people have been injured. Hospitals are unable to provide treatment. 22,000 patients who have been approved for treatment abroad are still trapped inside Gaza. In addition, 650,000 children are suffering from a severe food crisis. Severe shortages of milk, medicine and food are threatening their lives.
The United Nations and international organizations have repeatedly warned of a famine in Gaza. The UN says that almost all of Gaza’s 2.4 million people are dependent on humanitarian aid and are “subject to unprecedented deprivation.”
The public relations office said that 95 percent of schools in Gaza have been damaged. 165 educational institutions have been completely destroyed. 13,500 students, 830 teachers and about 200 researchers and academics have been killed. Religious places have also been reduced to rubble. 835 mosques have been completely destroyed, several churches have been damaged. Cemeteries have also been bulldozed or bombed.
The report says that direct damage to 15 sectors in Gaza has been estimated at $70 billion. Of this, $28 billion was lost in the housing sector alone, $5 billion in the health sector and $4 billion in the education sector. Cultivable land and the fishing sector have been almost completely destroyed. This poses a serious threat to long-term food security.
The final part of the report calls on the international community to take action before Gaza is completely destroyed. It demands that the Israeli blockade be lifted and unlimited humanitarian aid be allowed to enter. The United Nations and human rights organizations have repeatedly called for an investigation into war crimes, but no effective decision has been made due to political divisions in the Security Council.
As the war enters its third year, Gaza is almost completely in ruins. People are struggling to survive, homeless and hungry. Local authorities are calling it “730 days of genocide and ethnic cleansing.”
