Death, destruction, displacement continue 3 months after Israel's intensified war on Gaza

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Death, destruction, and displacement continue to dominate the Palestinian scene three months after Israel's intensified and devastating attacks on the blockaded Gaza Strip.

This Israeli war, now in its fourth month, has rendered Gaza, home to approximately 2.3 million Palestinians, including 2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), "uninhabitable," according to UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths' latest assessment of the enclave.

Griffiths said in a statement on Friday that Gaza has become "a place of death and despair (...) and is uninhabitable."

Three months have passed since the Hamas movement surprised Israel with a large-scale attack on the settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip, which is believed to have resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 Israelis and the capture of dozens.

Over the past 92 days, thousands of Palestinians have been killed and injured, the majority of whom are women and children, in intense and violent Israeli raids targeting various areas in the Gaza Strip's north, center, and south, particularly the Bureij, Nuseirat, and Maghazi camps square, the Zawaida area (central), and the city of Khan Younis (south).

This intensity of aerial fire coincides with a ground operation launched by the Israeli army on Oct. 27, but it has become concentrated during this time in the Central Governorate, the city of Khan Younis, and some areas in the northern Gaza Strip.

However, the Israeli ground operation continues to encounter resistance described by military observers as “fierce,” from fighters from armed Palestinian factions, particularly the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, and the Jerusalem Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, resulting in deaths and injuries among the ranks of Israeli soldiers, as well as preventing their advance deeper into the areas.

Israeli army in Gaza

A week ago, the Israeli army withdrew from many areas north of the Gaza Strip into which it had penetrated in recent months, while it now stationed its vehicles in some areas, particularly on the western and eastern outskirts of Gaza and the northern governorates.

According to local sources, the army is carrying out military operations and rapid incursions into several residential areas and neighborhoods in Gaza, from which it withdraws again after facing resistance from the armed factions.

Saturday witnessed the outbreak of fighting in several areas in the northern Gaza Strip, most notably in the western areas of the town of Jabalia and its camp, where clashes broke out between the army and the resistance factions.

Meanwhile, the intensified Israeli aerial bombardment of the city's neighborhoods, which has resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries, has been reduced in recent days, according to the same sources. However, eyewitnesses reported that the Israeli army is now conducting drone attacks.

The army announced in early December that its forces were nearing the end of their military mission in the northern Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media.

Around the same time, the army announced the start of its ground operations north of Khan Younis in a separate statement.

It claimed that its forces had reached the eastern and central areas of the city, but that it was still unable to advance and control it due to tough resistance from Palestinian fighters.

On Dec. 31, the Israeli army demobilized five combat brigades from the ground battle in Gaza.

The army also began an incursion into the Bureij camp in central Gaza from the eastern regions.

On Thursday, the Israeli army pushed its forces towards Salah al-Din Street, which separates the west of the Bureij camp from the east of the Nuseirat camp, to attack both areas, according to local sources.

A few days ago, military vehicles reached the outskirts of Maghazi camp, and on Saturday, the Israeli army penetrated the outskirts of the Al-Zawaida area, west of Maghazi, indicating that the army, according to military observers, is attempting “to control the northern areas of the Central Governorate and separate them from the southern ones.”

Meanwhile, the army continues to launch intense and violent air and artillery raids on residential neighborhoods in the northern and southern Gaza Strip, killing and injuring dozens.

Casualties and damages

By the beginning of the fourth month of Israel's war on Gaza, the number of Palestinian casualties has risen to 22,835 dead and 58,416 injured.

In a statement, the government media office in Gaza said among the casualties “There are 10,000 children, 7,000 women, 326 medical personnel, 45 members of the Civil Defense, and 109 journalists martyred.”

The number of people reported missing under the rubble of collapsed buildings destroyed by the Israeli army since Oct. 7 has risen to around 7,000, it added.

The ongoing Israeli war has caused extensive damage to buildings and homes, with the government office documenting that 69,000 housing units have been completely demolished or become uninhabitable, in addition to 290,000 housing units being partially damaged.

It added that 30 hospitals, 53 health centers, and 150 health institutions in the Gaza Strip are completely out of service.

At least 121 ambulances have been targeted during the same period, it said.

Humanitarian situation

The Gaza Strip has witnessed three waves of displacement over the past three months.

The first began from cities in the north of the Strip and the Gaza Governorate towards the south, the second from the east of the city of Khan Younis towards its west side and the city of Rafah, and the third began a week ago from the central governorate in Gaza towards the city of Rafah.

This brings the total number of displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to 2 million, out of a population of approximately 2.3 million.

These displaced people are living in humanitarian conditions that human rights and international reports describe as "catastrophic," due to a lack of necessities such as food, safe drinking water, and water for hygiene, as well as a scarcity of detergents, in conjunction with the collapse of the health sector and the closure of hospitals and health centers.

Hundreds of thousands of displaced people have taken refuge in UN-run shelters in what they describe as “harsh living conditions,” while hundreds of thousands of others are living in open-air tents despite cold weather and rain.

Local and international health organizations warn against the spread of infectious diseases in shelter centers, in addition to diseases related to malnutrition.

International reports have warned, more than once, that the Gaza Strip is at risk of “famine.”

Political track

With the Israeli soldiers’ developments accelerating, there are no signs of a temporary or comprehensive cease-fire agreement or exchange deal soon, despite reports in recent weeks of Egyptian-Qatari proposals in this regard.

Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh on Friday urged US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to stop Israel's attacks on Gaza during his new tour of the region.

Haniyeh urged the officials of Arab and Islamic countries with whom Blinken will meet to "convey that the future of the region and its stability are inextricably linked to the Palestinian cause, which cannot be ignored."

On Saturday, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said, "Hamas is open to all initiatives and seeks to stop the aggression... The occupation will not be able to recover its hostages alive unless it stops the aggression and pays the price."

Egypt and Qatar, along with the US, are spearheading efforts to reach a second temporary humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip.

Since the beginning of December, Israeli media has reported on the existence of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Egypt and Qatar, to release Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

On Dec. 28, Diaa Rashwan, head of the Egyptian State Information Service (SIS), said Egypt “presented to the concerned parties a framework for a proposal that includes three successive stages, ending with a cease-fire in Gaza.”

In its surprise attack on the settlements surrounding Gaza on Oct. 7, Hamas captured at least 239 Israelis, according to Israeli sources.

The temporary humanitarian pause that took place between Nov. 24 and Dec. 1, resulted in the release of 105 hostages detained by Hamas, including 81 Israelis, 23 Thai citizens, and one Filipino.

Palestinian prisoner institutions reported that Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners during the humanitarian pause, including 71 women prisoners and 169 children.

Israel estimates that about “137 hostages are still held in the Gaza Strip,” according to media reports and statements by Israeli officials.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi