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Israel killed, injured more than 10% of Gaza’s population over the past 2 years
…ceasefire talks continue in Egypt
(AL-JAZEERA) It has been two years since Israel launched its genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel’s assault on Gaza began on October 7, 2023, in response to attacks on southern Israel by fighters from the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, and other Palestinian groups, during which 1,139 people died and about 240 were taken into Gaza as captives.
In response, Israel began a bombing campaign on Gaza and tightened its longstanding blockade, turning what had already been a 16-year siege into a total stranglehold.
Palestinians at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City mourn over the bodies of loved ones killed in Israeli attacks [Mohammed Saber/EPA]
Two years of Israeli attacks have killed at least 67,000 Palestinians. Thousands of other people are still under the rubble.
That is about one out of every 33 people killed, or 3 percent of the pre-war population.
At least 20,000 children are among the dead, or one child killed every hour for the past 24 months.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health counts deaths based on people brought to hospitals or officially recorded. The true number is unknown and is likely much higher because the official death toll does not include those who perished under rubble or are missing.
The human toll of Gaza’s war extends beyond the dead.
More than 169,000 people have been injured, many with life-altering wounds.
UNICEF estimated that 3,000 to 4,000 children in Gaza have lost one or more limbs.
What few health facilities are still open across the besieged enclave remain overwhelmed as they operate with dwindling supplies and little to no anaesthesia.
Israel has attacked nearly all of Gaza’s hospitals and healthcare facilities.
Over the past two years, at least 125 health facilities have been damaged, including 34 hospitals, leaving patients without access to essential medical services.
Israeli strikes on hospitals and the continued bombardment of Gaza have killed at least 1,722 health and aid workers.
Hundreds of others have been forcibly removed from hospital wards and patient bedsides and detained in Israeli prisons and military camps.
According to Health Care Workers Watch, as of July 22, Israeli forces are holding 28 prominent physicians, including 18 senior specialists in vital fields such as surgery, anesthesiology, intensive care and pediatrics, depriving Gaza’s devastated health system of critical expertise.
Two of these senior doctors have reportedly died under torture in Israeli custody, and their bodies are still being withheld.
At least 20 physicians were taken from hospitals besieged or stormed by Israeli soldiers, while others were detained from medical convoys, their homes or during forced evacuations. Most have been held without charge for more than 400 days, including three detained for over 600 days.
These arrests form part of a broader pattern of attacks on Gaza’s healthcare system. Since October 2023, there have been more than 790 documented attacks on health facilities, including aerial bombardments of hospitals, clinics and ambulances, according to the World Health Organization.
Hospitals cannot be the object of attack, according to the Fourth Geneva Convention, Articles 18-22. According to Articles 12 and 51, medical units and personnel have special protections.
According to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Article 8 (2)(b)(ix), intentionally attacking a hospital is a war crime.
Hospitals cannot be the object of attack, according to the Fourth Geneva Convention, Articles 18-22. According to Articles 12 and 51, medical units and personnel have special protections.
According to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Article 8 (2)(b)(ix), intentionally attacking a hospital is a war crime.
At least 459 people, including 154 children, have died due to starvation.
On August 22, the United Nations-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system, a global hunger monitor, confirmed a famine in the enclave – the first officially recognised in the Middle East.
According to the IPC, famine is currently occurring in Gaza Governorate and is projected to expand to the Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis governorates by the end of September. Nearly a third of the population (641,000 people) are expected to face catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5).
Malnutrition among children surged at a historic pace: In July alone, more than 12,000 were identified as acutely malnourished – six times higher than at the start of the year.
Nearly one child in four suffers from severe acute malnutrition, and one in five babies is born prematurely or underweight.
When the Israeli- and United States-backed GHF took over aid operations on May 27, operating outside the UN framework, it introduced a new, deadly distribution system.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, more than 2,600 people have been killed and over 19,000 injured by fire from Israeli soldiers and GHF security contractors while trying to collect food from GHF sites.
One Israeli soldier described these areas as “a killing field”. And Israel’s Haaretz newspaper quoted Israeli soldiers as saying they were ordered to fire on people gathered at the GHF sites.
Since October 2023, Israel has systematically targeted Gaza’s already compromised water infrastructure – striking wells, pipelines, desalination plants and sewage systems.
According to UN experts, 89 percent of the enclave’s water and sanitation network has been damaged or destroyed, leaving more than 96 percent of households water insecure.
Local authorities said much of Gaza’s water distribution system lies in ruins, with major pipes shattered and wells either contaminated by untreated sewage or rendered inaccessible due to ongoing fighting and forced displacement.
Today, nearly half of Gaza’s population survives on less than 6 litres (1.6 gallons) of water a day for drinking and cooking, while 28 percent have access to under 9 litres (2.4 gallons) for hygiene and cleaning – far below the emergency 20-litre (5.3-gallon) standards set for “short-term survival”.
The destruction across Gaza is near total.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, by August, 92 percent of all residential buildings and 88 percent of commercial facilities had been damaged or destroyed.
Entire neighbourhoods have been wiped out, leaving millions of Palestinians displaced and without shelter.
Satellite analysis by the UN’s UNOSAT programme found that as of July 8, 2025, nearly 78 percent of all structures across the enclave have been destroyed.
With 62 percent of residents lacking legal documents to prove property ownership, rebuilding will be fraught with challenges. Many families face the prospect of permanent displacement, unable to reclaim their homes or land even if reconstruction eventually begins.
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Sir. Ronald Sanders
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And they still ignored Trump’s order to stop bombing Gaza, with US BOMBS.
Now, you know who rules the US Govt., we cannot tell those Israeli Nazis
what to do – they tell the US leave us, we are capable of running our affairs-
we don’t need interference- we just need your Bombs.