Two years after the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, 2023, Gaza stands devastated beyond recognition. The ongoing conflict has claimed more than 67,000 Palestinian lives and left nearly 170,000 others wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Over 40,000 of the injured suffer from life-altering disabilities. Out of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents, nine in ten are displaced, and famine-like conditions prevail, with many going days without food. Entire neighborhoods, once filled with schools, homes, and mosques, have been reduced to rubble — more than 102,000 buildings destroyed, blanketing Gaza in debris twelve times the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

The humanitarian catastrophe is staggering. Out of every ten people in Gaza, one has been killed or injured, and out of every hundred children, four have lost one or both parents. Cemeteries overflow as mass graves multiply, while doctors operate with minimal resources amid shortages of medicine and fuel. The World Health Organisation reports that thousands of patients suffer burns and blast injuries comparable to war zones like Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes and restrictions on aid have deepened the crisis, as families are forced to flee repeatedly in search of safety. Makeshift tent camps now dominate southern Gaza, where hunger, disease, and grief define daily life.

Israel says its operations target Hamas fighters embedded within civilian areas and claims the campaign aims to eliminate the group and rescue the remaining hostages. Yet, Gaza’s destruction tells a different story — one of a population trapped in an ever-tightening siege. The Israeli military now controls most of the territory, bulldozing croplands, leveling towns, and reshaping Gaza’s geography with new military posts. As global powers debate a new American peace plan, Israeli tanks continue to advance toward Gaza City, threatening the heart of a region already shattered by war, hunger, and displacement.