This photo, taken from a position in southern Israel at the border with the Gaza Strip, shows destroyed buildings in the besieged territory on May 27, 2025. (Credit: Jack Guez/AFP)
Six hundred days after the beginning of the war in Gaza, the human and material toll is staggering. Tens of thousands were killed, the majority of the population has been displaced yet again and there is destruction on an unprecedented scale. The resumption of humanitarian aid distribution is insufficient to meet the needs amid looming famine, especially as Israel attempts to control it through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which had a chaotic start on Tuesday. While a cease-fire seems still out of reach despite intensified diplomatic pressures, the Israeli army continues its offensive and plans to occupy up to 75 percent of the territory within two months.
Tens of thousands killed, injured
Since the resumption of the Israeli offensive on March 18, 2025, breaking a cease-fire agreed upon on Jan. 3, 901 Palestinians have been killed and 11,088 injured, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
Destruction of housing, essential infrastructure
In December 2024, an assessment by UNOSAT (the U.N.'s satellite center) reported damage to 69 percent of all buildings in Gaza, with more than 170,000 structures damaged.
In the agricultural sector, more than 80 percent of the land is damaged, and nearly 78 percent has become inaccessible. More than 70 percent of greenhouses and 82 percent of agricultural wells have been destroyed.
Medical, educational sectors
The health system in Gaza is on the brink of collapse. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 43 percent of essential medications, 64 percent of medical supplies and 42 percent of vaccines were at zero stock levels as of May 26, 2025. More than 50 agency trucks are currently awaiting authorization to enter the enclave.
Gaza's education ministry reports that more than 13,677 students have been killed and 21,897 injured since Oct. 7, 2023. The ministry also noted that 663 teachers and administrators have been killed and 2,825 have been injured. U.N. experts are concerned about a systematic destruction of the Palestinian educational system, referring to a possible case of "scholasticide."
Military operations, displacement plans
As part of its "Gideon's Chariots" operation, Israel intends to occupy up to 75 percent of the Gaza Strip. According to several Israeli sources, this plan involves a gradual military advance and a forced reorganization of the civilian population. Three zones are now designated as "humanitarian": the city of Gaza, the camps in the center and the coastal region of al-Mawassi, which already houses some 700,000 Palestinians, nearly half of whom fled the bombings in Rafah. While the center concentrates on about 350,000 displaced persons, one million others remain in the north of the enclave, where strikes continue.
This article was translated from L'Orient-Le Jour.
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