The Palestinian Authority estimates that almost 47,000 people have been killed in Gaza out of a population of about 2.1 million. More than 60% of buildings have been damaged, and 90% of residents have been displaced, writes Aleteia.org.
This is the toll for 15 months of war since Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. Following the ceasefire, Israeli forces launched a war against the military organization, but also against the civilian population of the strip, killing tens of thousands of innocent victims.
After the ceasefire, Palestinians are waking up to a “truly catastrophic reality, because they dream of returning to their homes, but there are no homes there,” the humanitarian organization Caritas said.
Gaza lacks clean water and diseases spread easily. In addition, humanitarian agencies hope that Israel will soon allow certain supplies and equipment that it has previously considered “dual use” that could potentially be used by Hamas for military purposes. Things like personal computers, generators, solar panels and even wheelchairs are currently banned.
Talks about lifting the restrictions are ongoing, The New York Times reported. “The lives of the people of Gaza have been completely destroyed. So the most important thing is to work on the people themselves, to rebuild their souls first, before rebuilding Gaza. There is a lot of work to do,” Caritas said.
Meanwhile, James Elder, a spokesman for UNICEF, said in an interview with NBC that in the first months of the war alone, about 1,000 children in Gaza lost one or both legs. He said the agency did not have an up-to-date estimate of the number of minors who have suffered amputations since then, but said the number is certainly much higher now. “I have never been to a hospital where everywhere I turn, there are civilians on the floor, in the corridors, in the hallways, with horrific wounds from war, including children – everywhere,” Elder said.