Gaza one year later: A city destroyed by Israeli bombs and heartbreaking realities

Gaza, which Israel has been bombing incessantly for a year, is turning into a ghost city day by day. Thousands of innocent people, including women, children, and the elderly, have lost their lives in the attacks that have been ongoing since October 7, 2023. While infrastructure has been completely destroyed, essential living spaces such as homes, schools, and hospitals have also been targeted. The attacks have further complicated the lives of displaced families, opening the doors to a humanitarian crisis.

The violence perpetrated by the Israeli military and the support provided by the U.S. for the attacks in Gaza, which have reached the scale of genocide, are deeply shaking the international community. The 11 major massacres that have taken place in the Gaza Strip have left indelible marks on memory.

The destruction resulting from the attacks has led not only to physical but also to psychological trauma, darkening the future of the people in the region. Sustaining life in Gaza has now become nearly impossible.

17 THOUSAND CHILDREN AND 41 THOUSAND 870 PEOPLE HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES

According to data released on September 30 by the Media Office of the government in Gaza, the Israeli army has committed approximately "3 thousand 650 massacres" within this 1 year.

In these massacres, 41 thousand 870 people have lost their lives, including approximately 17 thousand children, 11 thousand 378 women, and 13 thousand men, while 97 thousand 166 people have been injured.

The bodies of 10 thousand people who are under the rubble or missing have still not been reached. As it stands, children make up 42 percent of the deceased, women 27 percent, and men 31 percent.

171 NEWBORN BABIES DIED

Children have paid the heaviest price for the Israeli attacks. 171 babies born during the attacks died without even having a chance at life. 710 babies who had not yet turned 1 year old also lost their lives in the attacks. There were even fetuses recovered from under the rubble.

25 thousand 973 children lost their mother, father, or both. The lifeless bodies of 520 Palestinians were found in 7 mass graves discovered at hospitals.

FAMILIES ERASED FROM THE POPULATION

While all members of hundreds of families have lost their lives in Israeli attacks, only one or two members of thousands of others have managed to survive.

According to a written statement by the Media Office dated October 2, during the year-long genocide, 902 families were erased from the population as all their members perished, while only one member of 1,364 families and only two members of 3,472 families survived. Hunger, blockade, and lack of medicine were used as a form of "weapon".

Israel, which has maintained a strict blockade by keeping the border crossings to the Gaza Strip closed for 5 months, has also used hunger, malnutrition, and a lack of medicine as weapons against the surviving Palestinians.

HUNGER AND MALNUTRITION

In one year, 36 Palestinians, most of them children, lost their lives due to hunger and malnutrition.

3 thousand 500 children faced the risk of death due to malnutrition.

71 thousand 338 people contracted hepatitis due to constant displacement and migration, and 1 million 737 thousand 524 people contracted various epidemic diseases. 10 thousand cancer patients are at risk of death at any moment due to the lack of treatment facilities in Gaza. There is a need for 12 thousand Palestinians injured in the attacks and 3 thousand patients to be treated outside of Gaza.

THEY TARGETED THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

The Israeli army, disregarding international law, has specifically targeted hospitals and healthcare workers. In doing so, it has deprived patients and Palestinians wounded in the attacks of the means to receive treatment. Due to the attacks, 34 hospitals and 80 health centers have been rendered out of service, 162 healthcare facilities have been damaged, and 131 ambulances have been rendered unusable. 986 healthcare workers have lost their lives, and 310 healthcare workers have been detained.

Some of the doctors detained by Israel have lost their lives as a result of torture they endured in Israeli prisons. Among the most prominent of these were Adnan al-Bursh, one of the region's most renowned orthopedic surgeons, and obstetrician Iyad al-Rantisi.

UNIVERSITIES RAZED TO THE GROUND

One of the most significant dimensions of the genocide carried out by Israel has been the "scholasticide" applied to the education system.

Israel has deliberately razed schools and universities in Gaza to the ground, leaving a generation without education. According to Palestinian data, before October 7, 2023, there were 17 universities and colleges in the Gaza Strip, as well as 796 schools where 800 thousand students were receiving education.

Through its attacks, the Israeli army has completely destroyed 125 of these schools and partially destroyed 337. Consequently, 93 percent of school buildings have been completely or partially destroyed.

According to data from the Media Office, 11,500 primary and high school students, 750 teachers and education personnel, and 115 university professors and academics have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israeli attacks.

85 THOUSAND TONS OF EXPLOSIVES DROPPED ON GAZA IN 1 YEAR

In one year, Israel has left nothing standing in Gaza by using 85 thousand tons of explosives. In these attacks, homes, government buildings, and historical monuments, as well as electricity and water networks, have been rendered unusable.

According to the Media Office, 611 mosques were completely destroyed, 214 mosques were partially destroyed, 150 thousand homes were completely destroyed, 200 thousand homes were partially destroyed, and 80 thousand homes were rendered unusable.

201 public buildings, 206 historical monuments and archaeological sites, and 3 churches were also targeted by Israeli attacks. 36 sports facilities and stadiums, as well as 700 water wells, have been put out of service.

The Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs in Gaza stated in an announcement on October 5 that 79 percent of the 1,245 mosques across Gaza have been destroyed, and that 19 out of 60 cemeteries have been intentionally and systematically targeted, with graves being exhumed, dozens of bodies stolen, and their physical integrity violated.

The statement reported that 238 ministry personnel have been killed by the Israeli army and 19 have been detained. Regarding infrastructure, 3,130 kilometers of electrical grid, 330,000 meters of water network, 655,000 meters of sewage network, and 2 million 835 thousand meters of road network have been destroyed.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in his speech at the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Summit held on October 3 in Doha, the capital of Qatar, under the title "Sports Diplomacy," stated that the Israeli army "has destroyed more than 90 percent of the infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, including sports facilities, in its brutal war of genocide."

1- AL-MAWASI MASSACRE - KHAN YUNIS

The Israeli army launched a major attack on the Al-Mawasi region in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on September 10.

40 Palestinians lost their lives in the attack, while 60 others were injured.

The massacre took place in an area that the Israeli army had claimed was "safe." Israel had previously directed displaced persons to that location.

DOZENS OF CIVILIANS BURIED UNDER SAND

According to statements by Ismail Al-Thawabta, Director of the Government Media Office in Gaza, this massacre caused dozens of civilians to be buried under the sand.

Displaced Palestinians stated that the areas where tents were located turned into a mass grave in an instant, as people remained trapped in large, deep craters caused by the bombing during the attack.

Following the attack, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor (Euro-Med) stated that the US is an "accomplice" to the massacre committed by the Israeli army with its destructive weapons.

In the statement by Euro-Med, it was noted: “Preliminary investigations showed that Israeli warplanes dropped 3 US-made MK-84 bombs on displaced persons in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis after midnight on Tuesday, September 10, while they were sleeping in their tents. Approximately 20 tents, along with the families inside, were buried in 3 craters that were meters deep and wide due to the attack.”

2- AL-TABI'IN SCHOOL MASSACRE - GAZA

Israeli warplanes carried out another major massacre on August 10.

The army conducted the bloody attack on the Al-Tabi'in School in the Daraj neighborhood in eastern Gaza, where displaced civilians were sheltering, while Palestinians were performing the morning prayer.

At least 100 people, including children and women, were killed and dozens were injured in the attack on the school, where thousands had taken refuge.

At the time, the Israeli army claimed to have killed 19 members of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements while targeting the school and published a list containing the names of members of the two movements, but Palestinian groups denied these allegations.

Euro-Med President Rami Abdo stated that "the list published by the Israeli army includes those killed in previous attacks and civilians who opposed Hamas."

3- AL-MAWASI MASSACRE - KHAN YUNIS

On July 13, the Israeli army carried out a horrific attack on the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, a city in the Gaza Strip where displaced Palestinians had taken refuge and which had previously been declared a "safe zone."

At least 90 people, mostly children and women, were killed in the attack, and 300 others were injured.

Israeli media claimed that the attack targeted Mohammed Deif, the commander-in-chief of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, but on the same day, Hamas denied that an assassination attempt had been carried out against Deif.

In a statement issued at the time, Hamas said, "This is not the first time Israel has claimed to target Palestinian leaders, only for it to later be proven a lie. These baseless claims were revealed to be solely intended to cover up the scale of the horrific massacre."

4- NUSEIRAT REFUGEE CAMP - DEIR AL-BALAH

During the massacre carried out by the Israeli army at the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in the city of Deir al-Balah on June 8, Israeli soldiers disguised themselves as Palestinians and used 2 civilian vehicles.

In the bloody massacre, which the Israeli army announced resulted in the rescue of 4 Israeli hostages and led to the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians, 274 Palestinians lost their lives, including 64 children and 57 women.

In the attack, 698 Palestinians were injured, including 153 children and 161 women.

Ismail al-Thawabta, Director of the Government Media Office in Gaza, pointing to the scale of the Israeli attack, stated, "The occupation army bombed 89 houses and one building containing people during the Nuseirat massacre."

The Israeli army announced that it had carried out attacks on various points in the central part of the Gaza Strip and that a total of 4 Israeli hostages were rescued alive in two different areas.

The Al-Qassam Brigades, on the other hand, announced that "the bombing resulted in the death and injury of hundreds of Palestinians, and the death of 3 Israeli hostages."

5- RAFAH MASSACRE (TENT FIRES)

Forty-five Palestinians lost their lives in an attack by the Israeli army on May 26 on tents housing displaced Palestinians in the city of Rafah, in the Gaza Strip, where the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had ordered a halt to attacks.

The Israeli army later attempted to evade responsibility for the massacre in a statement by its spokesperson Daniel Hagari, saying, "Contrary to reports, the army did not attack a humanitarian aid zone in Rafah."

In a statement, Hamas said, "The Zionist enemy continues to target the tents of displaced people in western Rafah and is committing a new massacre that has resulted in dozens of martyrs and wounded."

Witnesses stated that Israeli warplanes carried out an attack on the camp with at least 8 rockets.

United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk emphasized that reports they obtained indicated there were numerous explosions and that fires broke out, while pointing out that the area was hosting people displaced from the north of Gaza.

6- AL-SHIFA HOSPITAL MASSACRE

Israeli forces killed 400 Palestinians inside and around Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City during a two-week-long siege between March 8 and April 1, 2024.

Three mass graves were found inside the hospital complex after the Israeli army withdrew following its attacks.

The Israeli army claimed that it killed 200 "terrorists" and detained 500 people belonging to the "Hamas" and "Islamic Jihad" movements after the operation ended.

According to Hamas, however, Israel's ongoing attacks on Al-Shifa Hospital and its surroundings were an attempt to cover up its "failure" to achieve its military objectives.

7 - NABULSI JUNCTION MASSACRE

On February 29, 2024, the Israeli army targeted Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid at the Nabulsi Junction on Rashid Street, which connects the Gaza Strip from north to south, south of Gaza City, by bombing and opening fire.

The Israeli army killed 118 people and injured 760 others in the massacre, which is also known as the "Flour Massacre."

The government in Gaza emphasized that Israel's attack on those waiting for humanitarian aid was "deliberate and planned," stating, "The occupation army knew that these people had come to the area to receive humanitarian aid, but they killed them in cold blood."

Palestinians, who were suffering from severe hunger due to the shortage of flour and food following the siege imposed on them in that region, were waiting for aid to pass through the checkpoint established by Israeli forces west of Gaza City.

8 - AL-FAKHOURA SCHOOL MASSACRE

On November 18, 2023, the Israeli army bombed the Al-Fakhoura School, which is run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and was sheltering a large number of people, in the Jabalia Refugee Camp in the northern Gaza Strip.

While it was reported that more than 200 people were killed and injured in the Israeli attack, it was stated that there were great difficulties in removing the bodies left in the school corridors.

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip took shelter in schools they believed were protected under international humanitarian law, but Israeli bombs found them there as well. In a statement issued by Hamas following the attack, it was said, "We will hold the occupier accountable for this massacre."

9 - JABALIA MASSACRE

On October 31, 2023, Israeli warplanes targeted a crowded residential area in the Jabalia Refugee Camp in the northern Gaza Strip, killing and wounding one thousand Palestinians, most of whom were women and children.

The Israeli army admitted to carrying out a "large-scale" attack on the Jabalia Refugee Camp. The army claimed it had assassinated Ibrahim al-Biari, the commander of the Jabalia battalion affiliated with the Al-Qassam Brigades, but Al-Biari denied this.

10 - SAINT PORPHYRIUS MASSACRE

Hundreds of Christians and Muslims displaced by Israeli attacks had taken refuge in the Saint Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza, which dates back to 425 AD.

On October 20, 2023, the Israeli military carried out a bloody attack targeting the Saint Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church.

Twenty people, including 18 Christian Gazans, lost their lives at the church, which is located near the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital that Israel bombed on October 17.

While the Israeli military claimed at the time that its aircraft had bombed a Hamas command and control center in the Zeitoun neighborhood near the Saint Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church, the government media office in Gaza announced that the military had bombed the church, which was sheltering dozens of Christian families.

11 - AL-AHLI BAPTIST HOSPITAL MASSACRE

On October 17, 2023, Israeli warplanes bombed the courtyard of the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, killing more than 500 Palestinians, most of whom were women and children.

While Palestinians who survived the massacre said they experienced a "true Holocaust," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed at the time that "Palestinian groups were responsible for the bombing of the hospital," while Hamas and Islamic Jihad denied these allegations.

The bombing of the hospital sparked strong protests of condemnation in many countries, along with accusations that the international community was colluding with Israel.

In the attacks Israel has carried out on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 41,802 Palestinians have been killed, including approximately 17,000 children and 11,378 women, and 96,844 people have been injured.

While it is reported that there are still thousands of dead under the rubble, civilian infrastructure is also being destroyed by targeting hospitals and educational institutions where the public has taken shelter.