Israel has destroyed more than 88 percent of Gaza’s total area and displaced two million Palestinians since launching its genocidal war on October 7, 2023, according to a statistical report released by the Government Media Office in Gaza.
The report, marking the 650th day of the war, estimates that Israel has dropped 125,000 tonnes of explosives on Gaza and caused more than $62 billion in losses.
The brutal war has also resulted in “the forced evacuation of 2 million civilians” and the occupation of 77 percent of the enclave’s 360 square-kilometre territory.
The report put the total number of Palestinians killed or missing at 67,880. This includes more than 19,000 children and 12,500 women, among them 8,150 mothers and 953 infants.
The Gaza Health Ministry, which uses different methods that account only for bodies received at hospitals, said that the official death toll stood at 58,667.
The discrepancy between the two figures, according to officials, is due to the inclusion of missing persons under rubble and those still unaccounted for in the Media Office’s tally.
The statement also said that about 9,500 Palestinians remain under the rubble, with their fate unknown.
Israeli forces have killed 1,590 medical workers, 228 journalists, and 777 humanitarian aid staff, the Media Office said.
It also reported that 2,613 Palestinian families have been completely wiped from the civil registry. Additionally, at least 68 children have died from malnutrition and 17 others from exposure to cold in displacement camps.
The war has caused 139,000 injuries, including more than 4,700 amputations.
The report noted that 44,500 children have lost at least one parent, and over two million people have suffered from infectious diseases in displacement zones, including 71,000 cases of hepatitis.
The Media Office accused Israeli forces of stealing 2,420 bodies from cemeteries and establishing seven mass graves inside hospitals during the ongoing onslaught.
It also said 6,633 civilians have been arrested from Gaza, including 362 medical workers, 48 journalists, and 26 civil defence members.
Israel has destroyed 38 hospitals and 96 primary care centres, targeted 144 ambulances, and heavily damaged or destroyed 156 schools entirely and another 382 partially.
According to the report, 833 mosques, three churches, and 40 cemeteries have also been targeted.
A total of 288,000 families have been left homeless following the destruction of 223,000 housing units and the rendering of 130,000 others uninhabitable. The Media Office said 261 shelter centres have also been struck.
Systematic starvation
As part of a systematic starvation campaign, the report said that Israeli forces killed 877 civilians and injured 5,666 others while attacking aid distribution points.
It also stated that Israel prevented the entry of tens of thousands of relief trucks for over 139 consecutive days.
Gaza’s agricultural sector has suffered $2.2 billion in losses due to the destruction of 92 percent of the enclave’s arable land. Meanwhile, key infrastructure such as water, electricity, sanitation, and archaeological sites has been widely destroyed.
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since October 7, 2023, killing nearly 59,000 Palestinians so far, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages and a spread of disease.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
