After two years of a war marked by genocide, starvation, displacement, and relentless bombardment, Gaza now looks toward peace after the war turned it into a ghost city—its infrastructure destroyed, its devastated economy crippled, its population drastically reduced, and its trade, industry, environment, and public health all under threat. This means that the besieged Gaza Strip no longer exists as it did before Oct. 7, 2023, the date when the brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip began, which today marks its second year and tomorrow enters its third. With unparalleled brutality and savagery, Israel committed horrific crimes and genocide in the Palestinian territory, using its entire arsenal of lethal weapons for killing, destruction, and genocide through indiscriminate bombing, suffocating siege, repeated incursions, and systematic destruction of various parts of the Strip—from north to south and east to west. The Strip has endured continuous suffering, losing countless martyrs relentlessly for over 730 days, in what has become the longest and bloodiest war in the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and possibly in the history of the entire world. The conflict has transformed from a military battle into a humanitarian and geopolitical turmoil that is reshaping the entire region. Reports reveal indescribable human suffering and massive destruction affecting every aspect of life in the Gaza Strip, which has been under siege for more than 18 years. This is the result of a scorched-earth policy implemented by Israeli occupation forces, blatantly disregarding all recognized international and humanitarian values, charters and principles applicable during times of war. Official and international reports state that most cities and refugee camps in the Strip have turned into ghost towns, emptied of their residents who were forcibly displaced and pushed toward the southern part of the Strip. The area has been described as a disaster zone, with scenes of destruction stretching from the eastern border with the Israeli entity to the Mediterranean Sea. Almost nothing remains intact—homes lie in ruins, buildings have collapsed, schools are destroyed, and mosques, universities, and institutions have been leveled to the ground.According to documented reports and testimonies, the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe that has struck the Strip defies description. Tens of thousands have been martyred, hundreds of thousands wounded, and more than two million people live in tattered tents or the rubble of their homes. Meanwhile, famine is expanding, food security teeters on the brink of collapse, clean water is extremely scarce, and diseases are widespread. Hospitals are nearly incapacitated due to severe shortages of medicines and medical equipment, putting patients' and the injured's lives at constant risk. Gaza has become the largest open-air theater of suffering in the 21st century.According to the Government Media Office in Gaza, approximately 90% of the Strip has been destroyed after two years of war. Thirty-eight hospitals across the Strip have been either destroyed or rendered non-functional, while the occupation army has taken control of about 80% of the Strip's area through invasions, displacement, and continuous bombardment.The office reported that since the start of the war, the occupation army has dropped more than 200,000 tons of explosives on Gaza. Additionally, 95% of the Strip's schools have been partially or completely damaged as a result of the bombing.The Government Media Office also indicated that 67,160 Palestinians have been martyred, the majority of them children and women, and 169,679 others have been injured. The office further stated that 2,700 families have been completely wiped out and erased from the civil registry, and more than 460 people have died from hunger and malnutrition amid the ongoing siege and shortage of humanitarian supplies.It also clarified that 244 government headquarters and 292 sports and educational facilities have been destroyed, in addition to widespread damage to municipal services. Thousands of commercial establishments, banks, currency exchange shops, and central markets have also been affected. Preliminary estimates of losses across 15 economic sectors amount to $70 billion, reflecting direct impact only and excluding indirect effects caused by halted production, brain drain, and reduced commercial capacity.Housing sector losses alone are estimated at nearly $28 billion due to the complete or partial destruction of approximately 268,000 housing units, alongside widespread displacement and loss of property. Regarding electricity and energy facilities, direct losses are estimated at around $1.4 billion.According to the United Nations, the volume of rubble is estimated at more than 61 million tons, 15% of which is contaminated with toxic materials. The organization states that over 1.5 million people are in urgent need of emergency shelter amid severe food shortages and an almost complete absence of medical services, especially as organizations like the International Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders have been forced to suspend their operations due to the intensity of the brutal Israeli bombing.
