Israel’s year-long attacks on Gaza leave total devastation

By Gulsen Topcu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Israel’s year-long onslaught on Gaza has caused massive human and material losses.

According to data released on Sept. 30 by Gaza’s media office, the Israeli military has committed around 3,650 massacres over the past year.

More than 41,800 people have been killed and over 96,800 injured, while 10,000 people are still missing or presumed dead under the rubble.

The bodies of 520 Palestinians were recovered from seven mass graves found at hospitals.

Children make up 42% of the deceased, women account for 27% and men for 31%.

Children have borne the brunt of the Israeli attacks, with 171 newborns dying moments after birth and 710 infants under one year old killed. Even fetuses have been found under the rubble. Around 25,973 children lost one or both parents.

- Families wiped off the map

Hundreds of families lost all their members in the Israeli attacks, while thousands of families were left with only one or two survivors.

According to a statement by the Gaza Media Office on Oct. 2, during the year-long war, 902 families were completely wiped out, 1,364 families had only one surviving member, and 3,472 families were left with only two survivors.

- Starvation, blockade and lack of medicine used as weapons

Israel has imposed a tight blockade on Gaza, keeping border crossings closed for five months and using starvation, malnutrition and shortages of medicines as tools of war against the surviving Palestinians.

In the past year, 36 Palestinians have died from hunger and malnutrition, most of them children, while 3,500 children are at risk of death due to malnutrition.

The displacement and ongoing conflict have led to 71,338 cases of hepatitis and 1,737,524 cases of infectious diseases.

Around 10,000 cancer patients are at risk of dying due to a lack of treatment in Gaza, while 12,000 injured Palestinians and 3,000 other patients require medical care outside the enclave.

- Attacks against health care

The Israeli military has targeted hospitals and health care workers, violating international law and depriving wounded and sick Palestinians of medical care.

As a result, 34 hospitals and 80 health centers have become non-operational while 162 health care facilities have been damaged and 131 ambulances destroyed. Some 986 health care workers were killed and 310 were detained. Some detained doctors died under torture in Israeli prisons, including Adnan al-Bursh, a renowned orthopedic surgeon, and Iyad al-Rantisi, an obstetrician-gynecologist.

- Attacks against education

One of the key aspects of Israel’s war has been its destruction of Gaza’s education system. The Israeli military has targeted schools and universities, depriving an entire generation of education.

Before the attacks began on Oct. 7, 2023, Gaza had 17 universities and colleges and 796 schools, providing education for 800,000 students. Israeli forces have destroyed 125 schools and partially destroyed 337, leaving 93% of Gaza’s educational institutions either completely or partially ruined.

According to the Media Office, Israeli attacks killed 11,500 students in primary and secondary schools along with 750 teachers and educational staff as well as 115 university professors and academics.

- Gaza uninhabitable due to destruction of infrastructure

Israel has used 85,000 tons of explosives in the past year, leaving widespread destruction.

In addition to homes, government buildings and historical sites, vital infrastructure like electricity and water networks have been rendered unusable.

The Media Office said that 611 mosques were destroyed, 214 mosques were partially damaged, 150,000 homes were demolished, 200,000 homes were partially destroyed and 80,000 homes are no longer habitable.

Additionally, 201 public offices, 206 historical monuments, three churches, 36 sports facilities and 700 water wells were also targeted by Israeli attacks.

On Oct. 5, Gaza’s Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs said that 79% of the 1,245 mosques in Gaza were destroyed and 19 of 60 cemeteries were targeted, with bodies exhumed and desecrated. The ministry also reported that 238 staff members were killed and 19 were detained by Israeli forces.

The destruction of 3,130 kilometers (1,944 miles) of electrical networks, 330,000 meters of water pipelines, 665,000 meters of sewage systems and 2.835 million meters of road networks have made Gaza nearly uninhabitable.

On Oct. 3, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Summit in the Qatari capital Doha, where he said that Israel’s war has destroyed more than 90% of Gaza’s infrastructure, including sports facilities.

*Writing by Serdar Dincel in Istanbul