One year ago, Israel launched one of the deadliest and most destructive bombing campaigns in modern history in the Gaza Strip.
It came just hours after Hamas -- the U.S.- and EU-designated Palestinian terrorist group that controls Gaza -- carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel, the deadliest in the country’s history.
Israel’s goal of destroying Hamas has taken a huge toll on civilians and infrastructure in the Palestinian enclave, one of most densely populated areas in the world.
Deaths
On October 7, Hamas launched an hourslong multipronged attack on Israel from Gaza. Israel said 1,139 people were killed, including 685 Israeli civilians and 71 foreigners.
Hamas also took 251 Israelis hostages. Nearly half of them have been released, with some rescued and others freed by Hamas. Just over 100 of the hostages are still believed to be in Gaza, while the rest are believed to be dead. Some were inadvertently killed in Israeli strikes.
Israel has said 346 of its soldiers have been killed in the ground invasion of Gaza, which came weeks after the launch of its aerial bombardment of the enclave.
Over 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
Most were believed to be civilians, and a significant number of them children, who account for almost half of Gaza’s population of 2 million people.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said in April that “every 10 minutes, a child is killed or wounded” in Gaza. Children, he said, are “disproportionately paying the ultimate price in this war.”
The real death toll is believed to be even higher. Over 10,000 people are believed to be still buried under the rubble of residential buildings in Gaza, according to the UN.
Over 700 Palestinians, including more than 150 children, have been killed in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Israeli forces have been accused of unlawfully using lethal force in fatal shootings of Palestinians, including deliberately executing Palestinians who posed no apparent security threat.
Israel also estimates that 17,000 Hamas fighters have been killed in Gaza, a figure rejected by Hamas.
Destruction Of Infrastructure
Israel has destroyed over half of all the structures in Gaza Strip, according to the UN. Another 360,000 residential units have been damaged.
Satellite imagery shows that at least 53 schools have been destroyed since the conflict began, the world body said.
Israel said that it has targeted “terror” infrastructure and buildings in Gaza, and accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields.
War Injuries
Israel’s ground and air attacks on Gaza has wounded over 95,000 Palestinians, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
At least one-quarter of them face life-changing injuries, with many requiring amputations and major rehabilitation, said WHO.
Media And Relief Workers Killed
At least 116 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
At least five reporters were directly targeted by Israeli forces in what the New York-based media watchdog classified as murders.
That has made Israel’s war in Gaza the deadliest-ever conflict for journalists.
Relief workers have also been killed while working in the field. According to the UN, more than 250 aid workers have lost their lives during the conflict.
Humanitarian Crisis In Gaza
Nearly the entire population of the Gaza Strip is facing starvation due to an extreme lack of food, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.
Israel has used the starvation of Palestinian civilians as a weapon of warfare in the Gaza Strip, which is a war crime, Human Rights Watch said In December.
Internally Displaced Palestinians
More than 85 percent of Gaza’s residents, or over 1.9 million people, were internally displaced in the enclave by the end of 2023, the UN estimates.