Picture: for illustration purposes
Satellite imagery obtained on Thursday has unveiled the shocking scale of the destruction inflicted by the Israeli military's recent assault on the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian minister of public works and housing, Mohammad Ziyara, nearly 200,000 housing units have either been wholly or partially destroyed since the start of the violence following a sudden attack by Hamas on October 7.
In a poignant statement, Ziyara outlined the humanitarian crisis, noting that the aggressive bombing has "erased entire families from the civil registry." Furthermore, entire neighbourhoods and residential communities have been razed, decimating essential infrastructure including hospitals, bakeries, water filling stations, markets, schools, and educational and service institutions.
Home to around 2.3 million people and spanning a miniscule area of 365sq km (141sq miles), Gaza has witnessed close to half of all its housing units destroyed or damaged in these indiscriminate attacks. Neighbourhoods such as Beit Hanoon, Beit Lahiya, Shujaiya, along with areas around the Shati refugee camp and Abasan al-Kabira in Khan Younis have borne the brunt of these violent military actions.
Owing to the extensive loss of homes, an estimated 1.4 million individuals have now become internally displaced, many seeking refuge in UN-designated emergency shelters. The stringent Israeli blockade on fuel entering Gaza has also put the provision of vital medical services at risk. This has dire implications for the survival rates of at least 130 premature babies dependent on incubators, 1,000 kidney dialysis patients who've had to curtail their treatment sessions, and emergency frontline responders who cannot reach patients when fuel supplies deplete.
This humanitarian crisis is taking place under the watch of the Israeli government, which has rigorously controlled the movement of goods and people in and out of the embattled enclave since Hamas ascended to power in 2007.